Laurent Mekies responds as Red Bull figure linked with surprise exit

Laurent Mekies has responded to rumours about the future of chief engineer Paul Monaghan, amid speculation he is set to leave the team.

Rumours have abounded in the Austrian GP paddock that Red Bull stalwart, Paul Monaghan, is set to leave the team after over 20 years, with Cadillac mooted as his future destination.

Laurent Mekies addresses Paul Monaghan Red Bull exit rumours

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google for news you can trust.

Speculation has swirled in recent days that Monaghan is set to leave Red Bull, vacating his role as chief engineer.

Sources have suggested that Monaghan is likely to take up a more senior role with Cadillac, reuniting with chief technical officer Nick Chester at the American squad, with whom he worked closely at Benetton between 2000 and 2003.

Other sources have suggested that Monaghan is likely to pop up at Aston Martin, to reunite with Adrian Newey, with whom he worked at Red Bull for near two decades, while fellow long-term RBR colleague Jonathan Wheatley is also expected to arrive at Lawrence Stroll’s team as another familiar face to tempt Monaghan. However, it’s been suggested that Monaghan opted against taking up a role with Aston Martin, in order to take up a more senior role at Cadillac.

However, Monaghan is still under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028 and, at the time of writing, is said to have reassured Red Bull of his desire to stay – senior sources have indicated that the chief engineer remains committed to the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Other sources suggest that the British engineer is eyeing up a new career challenge in light of the changed dynamic within the team as Red Bull approaches a year since the seismic turning of the page the shareholders opted for by removing Christian Horner from his role as team principal and CEO.

It is understood that Monaghan has not signed a deal or reached an agreement with any team.

Amidst all the ‘is he or isn’t he’ rumours on Friday, Mekies addressed the speculation as he spoke to the media in the team bosses’ press conference, but notable failed to rule out the scenario that Monaghan has indicated a desire to leave.

“There are a lot of rumours about the team and the team personnel, and, as much as we have commented on GP [Lambiase], because obviously he’s a very exposed, he’s one of our very exposed engineers, and he’s going into an even more exposed role, I don’t think it will be right for me to comment on every single rumour that comes out,” he 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.

“So I don’t think it will be fair for our people through the ranks that I start commenting about this.

“Paul is actually here today, he has been working very hard to get our cars out this morning, and there is nothing more important to us than making sure we are in a position to keep our talents and to attract the ones we need, and that remains the highest priority.”

Following Monaghan’s long-term contract extension with Red Bull in 2024, the engineer sat with PlanetF1.com for an exclusive interview and spoke of how he felt he was “at home” with the then-Horner-led squad.

“Ultimately, what I want is… it’s not going to be a cruise, is it? It’s going to be hard work,” he said.

“It’s going to be a lot of hours, and it’s going to be weekends, all that sort of thing.

“You kind of accept that when you enter this pool but, primarily, what I set out wanting was to enjoy it. Would it be as enjoyable elsewhere, would it be more… I don’t know.

“But everything I’ve got here makes it fun, makes it enjoyable. You get up in the morning and think ‘Yes! It’s not a real job…’

“I read a quote somewhere: ‘Find something you love doing and you’ll never do a day’s work in your life’.

“Well, it goes towards that – good, bad, indifferent, good or bad days, I like the people I work with. I don’t know whether they like me, they’re probably quite the opposite! But I enjoy it.”

The speculation about Monaghan comes against the backdrop of several prominent names having moved on from Red Bull in recent times.

Max Verstappen’s race engineer, GianPiero Lambiase, is also poised to leave the team for McLaren no later than 2028.

Head of race strategy Will Courtenay has also switched to McLaren, while Red Bull’s chief designer Craig Skinner and Verstappen’s veteran mechanic Ole Schack have also departed.

Monaghan has become a senior figure within the Red Bull hierarchy, having initially joined the squad in 2005 in an engineer role.

That has since transitioned into Chief Engineer, Car Engineering, seeing him in charge for “extracting safe and maximum performance from the team’s machinery across a grand prix weekend, and turning racing concepts into real-world performance gains,” according to Red Bull’s own website.

He also played a key role in Red Bull’s championship-winning eras under both Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

With big names having left the team, Mekies ruled out that Red Bull is being weakened by high-profile departures – as Monaghan himself would be, if the engineer is indeed leaving.

“On that, extremely confident,” he said, when asked about his level of confidence in the strength and depth of the team’s technical abilities.

“The most striking aspect is the strength and depth that we have. We have incredible talents at all levels, and therefore I will certainly not go and look for an excuse to tell you we are missing A, B, or C in order to go back to ultimate competitiveness.

“No, we have everything in house. If we need something to complete that equation, we will do it, but we are certainly not limited by the quality of the talents we have.”

More on previous Red Bull personnel changes

Red Bull confirms technical reshuffle as Laurent Mekies lands key new signing

Max Verstappen mechanic Ole Schack to leave Red Bull after historic stint

Red Bull is a significantly different entity to what it was even just 12 months ago, making it less surprising that senior figures may be looking elsewhere.

The appointment of Laurent Mekies marked the first leadership change in the team’s F1 history and has come with an adjustment period.

That has seen the squad strive to become less political, reducing the noise and headlines around it, while simultaneously introducing its own power unit and becoming a manufacturer team in its own right – a move that was spearheaded by Horner half a decade ago, under the late team founder, Dietrich Mateschitz.

After dominating the early part of the ground effect regulation era, the squad found itself out-developed by McLaren and Mercedes in 2024 and 2025 – despite Verstappen winning the drivers’ title in F1 2024.

While the Red Bull power unit has been judged the best internal combustion engine under the FIA’s ADUO process, the RB22 has not proven a standout performer in its initial iteration.

Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren all look to have stolen a march, with the team’s best result so far a third place for Verstappen in Canada.

Aston Martin may appear a logical destination, given Newey’s attempts to raid Red Bull for its strongest personnel, making it all the more eye-opening that Monaghan appears to have chosen Cadillac as his next destination.

After all, Aston Martin’s current battle is somewhat reminiscent of Red Bull in its formative years, finishing seventh in the 2005 and 2006 constructors’ championship as it embarked on a building phase.

With a factory Honda engine supply, a brand-new wind tunnel and impressive facilities, the raw ingredients are there for a successful operation.

The arrival of experienced staff well versed in what it takes to win adds another layer to its depth, regardless of its current issues.

A move to Cadillac would also reunited Monaghan with Pat Symonds, who joined the Cadillac project in May 2024, following a spell with Formula One Management as its technical officer, a role he’d held for seven years.

Symonds currently serves as an executive engineering consultant to Cadillac, while team boss Graeme Lowdon has made no secret of the team’s ambition to recruit top-level talent.

A signing of Monaghan’s calibre would be a strong signal of intent from the all-new organisation, and likely see the Brit climb higher up the ladder from his role with Red Bull.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!