Former Max Verstappen chief mechanic lands senior Audi F1 role
Audi has signed a number of Max Verstappen's former Red Bull colleagues
Lee Stevenson, Max Verstappen’s former chief mechanic at Red Bull, has been appointed team manager of the new-look Audi F1 team.
It comes after Audi completed its F1 2026 shakedown in Barcelona last week, becoming the first team to take to the track with its new car.
Former Max Verstappen chief mechanic appointed Audi F1 team manager
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Audi is preparing for its first season in F1 in 2026 after the German manufacturer completed its full takeover and rebrand of the Sauber team.
The team is being fronted by Jonathan Wheatley, who was appointed team principal in 2024 after a highly successful stint as Red Bull’s sporting director.
Wheatley’s move to Audi was announced after Stevenson linked up with Sauber earlier last year, initially arriving at Hinwil in the role of chief mechanic.
It has emerged ahead of the new season that Stevenson has been promoted to the role of team manager.
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Stevenson’s new position is likely to see him adopt many of the responsibilities held by Wheatley in his previous role at Red Bull, including overseeing Audi’s race operations.
Wheatley was also widely credited for the standard-setting performance of the Red Bull pit crew, which is responsible for four of the five fastest pit stops in F1 history.
The record is currently held by McLaren, which required just 1.80 seconds to service Lando Norris’s car at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.
Stevenson began his F1 career as a mechanic with Jordan – now competing under the banner of Aston Martin – in 2000 before moving to Red Bull in 2006.
He rose through the ranks to the role of chief mechanic in 2023, a season in which Red Bull won all but one of the 22 races as Verstappen stormed to a third consecutive world championship.
Stevenson started work with Sauber as chief mechanic in April 2024 before receiving a promotion as the team morphed into Audi.
As reported by PlanetF1.com last October, Verstappen’s number-one mechanic Matt Caller has also joined Audi ahead of the new season.
PlanetF1.com understands that Caller is to take Stevenson’s previous role of chief mechanic.
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