Senior staff members part ways with Red Bull in administrative shake-up

A slew of senior administrative staff at Red Bull Racing have left the team ahead of the F1 2026 season.

Personnel linked to the staff members previously released from the organisation have left their roles at the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Senior members of Red Bull staff depart

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Sources have revealed to PlanetF1.com that four senior members of the administrative staff at Milton Keynes have parted ways with the team.

The departures are understood to have occurred shortly after continued assurances were made to staff on the ground in a company address, following the firing of two senior administrative directors alongside former Red Bull boss Christian Horner in July 2025.

Sources with knowledge of the situation indicated that the four members of personnel were not given reasons for the company choosing to part ways with them, but it’s thought that the moves are being made with an eye to further clearing the house following the firing of former group chief marketing and commercial officer Oliver Hughes and former group communications director Paul Smith.

Both were fired from the company following the British Grand Prix, with the pair thought to have a close working relationship with Horner.

The departures this week stem from the same departments, with marketing, communications, and human resources seeing changes ahead of the F1 2026 season.

Joanna Fleet, Human Resources director for Red Bull Racing & Red Bull Technology, had been with the squad since 2013, while Julia George was the director of partnerships for the company since 2022.

Simon Smith-Wright has been group marketing director with the company since December 2024, while Alice Hedworth has served as senior communications manager, having joined in mid-2021.

Of the four, Hedworth would be best-known to F1 fans and has developed a cult following from her appearances as Sergio Perez’s press officer before working closely with Mekies over the past six months.

All four took up their posts during Horner’s tenure as team boss and CEO, but are thought to have been released as the new management structure of Laurent Mekies and Oliver Mintzlaff make their mark on the squad. They are understood to have been informed on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

The departures come shortly after long-time Red Bull board director and advisor Helmut Marko stepped down from his role in December 2025, purportedly of his own volition, although sources have indicated the Austrian was facing being pushed out had he not jumped first.

A Red Bull spokesperson declined to comment when approached by PlanetF1.com, aside from confirming the departures of the four members of staff.

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