Red Bull Racing lose pit stop mastermind to rival F1 team

Red Bull Racing has lost a key staff member to a rival Formula 1 team. Andor Hegedűs, who held the position of Project Design Engineer, playing a key role in the team's successful pit stops, has left for Aston Martin.

Aston Martin hijacks pit stop chief from Red Bull

On the eve of the 2024 F1 season, Hegedus announced via LinkedIn that he will join Aston Martin as Senior Project Designer. Following the earlier departure of head of aerodynamics Dan Fallows, this means another key team member is leaving Red Bull for Aston Martin.

The Hungarian engineer has been Project Design Engineer for the Milton-Keynes-based team for the past five years. His duties included "planning, managing and designing pit stop equipment and pit gear projects".

"In the next chapter, we are going green. I am very happy to start a new phase as senior project designer at Aston Martin. Thank you so much for all the support and messages," said Hegedűs.

Red Bull Racing's lightning-fast pit stops have proved crucial for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez on numerous occasions. For a long time, the Austrian team held the record for the fastest stop of all time, until McLaren narrowly broke the record in 2023. Yet it was Red Bull that once again led the way last season, averaging the fastest stops over the whole year.