Red Bull chief engineer Monaghan misses second race in a row as Cadillac links resurface

Monaghan had been missing in São Paulo and at the race before it in Mexico City. While touring the paddock in Brazil, Sky F1's Ted Kravitz pointed out that Gianpiero Lambiase was still with the team but Monaghan was not. "He hasn't been here for the last two races; the team say that that was a planned absence," he said on Sky Sports F1.

Kravitz added that Monaghan usually sits right in the middle of the garage. He said one missed race can happen but two in a row is not normal. He also admitted he did not know what was going on, but expected Monaghan to be back in Las Vegas.

Monaghan's absences have drawn attention before. In late June, it was reported that he would take up a senior role within Cadillac's engineering department, and that he could face a long spell of gardening leave. When he missed the British Grand Prix in July, Kravitz said at the time that it was very unusual for him to miss a race, while Red Bull's line was that he was simply taking the weekend off.

The story then turned. In Belgium, team principal Laurent Mekies said: "If I look at the names that have been circulating in the last few months, most of them are still in the garage. Some had never wanted to leave, some have changed their mind and are staying with us."

In August, Spanish journalist Antonio Lobato reported that Red Bull made Monaghan a late counteroffer, which the long-serving engineer accepted. Red Bull has not formally confirmed either version.

Monaghan's absence matters because so much around Max Verstappen's car is already changing. Lambiase is leaving for McLaren to become chief racing officer, and Tom Hart has been set to be Verstappen's race engineer in the Brazilian Grand Prix and the Las Vegas Grand Prix before taking over full-time. Red Bull has also signed former Aston Martin performance director Tom McCullough as head of racing for 2027.

Monaghan has been one of the team's few constants through all of this. He started at McLaren in 1990, became Jenson Button's race engineer at Benetton, worked at Jordan and joined Red Bull at the end of 2005.

Cadillac, meanwhile, is still recruiting from Milton Keynes: as GPblog reported, former Red Bull chief designer Craig Skinner starts there as Chief Development Engineer on 18 November. Whether Monaghan is back in the garage in Las Vegas should show which side of that line he is on.