Red Bull poach Aston Martin key figure to strengthen the team

This website was recently able to confirm that McCullough will leave Aston Martin at the end of the year.

His destination is the team of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar. Red Bull is working hard to strengthen the team, with Mercedes’ Gwen Lagrue as the first addition and successor to Helmut Marko. Now, another well respected person is set to join the Austrian outfit in McCullough.

At Aston Martin, McCullough most recently served as Performance Director for Aston Martin Performance Technologies. In recent times, McCullough held a broader role at Aston Martin and did not focus solely on the Formula 1 project. It is unclear why McCullough is stepping down. Nor is it clear who will succeed him, or whether his position will be filled again at all.

At Red Bull, McCullough will likely take on a similar role as Head of Racing, which is at the moment held by Gianpiero Lambiase. He would likely be responsible for all trackside operations and manage the engineers during Grands Prix. It’s a crucial position, and until the end of his contract, the Briton with Italian roots is expected to continue fulfilling his dual role.

Lambiase has signed with McLaren and is under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2027, but it is not known exactly when he will join McLaren. Red Bull has already found a replacement for his role as Verstappen’s race engineer: Tom Hart. The Brit was initially set to move to Williams, but Red Bull managed to convince him to stay. As GPblog wrote at the end of July, it appears that Hart will fully take over from Lambiase at the start of 2027.

At the beginning of next season, the Briton with Italian roots is expected to begin his gardening leave period. As a result, Lambiase will be able to start directly in his new role at McLaren at the start of the 2028 season.