Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan is set to depart the team and move across the pit lane to a rival Formula 1 team, according to reports.
The Milton Keynes-based squad has suffered a number of key personnel exits over the last couple of seasons, and has also faced a year of longstanding rumours that star driver Max Verstappen will also depart.
Monaghan has been part of the furniture at Red Bull since its 2005 inception, but, according to reports from RacingNews365, he has outlined his intention to seek pastures new.
It is believed that the 58-year-old has received a notable role at Aston Martin, where he would reunite with former Red Bull colleague Adrian Newey.
But the report suggests his chosen destination is Cadillac, which would stand to benefit from his extraordinary compendium of experience.
The American squad already has a breadth of known figures in its ranks, and Monaghan would add to what it needs to achieve its aim of moving up the grid.
Contrastingly, it would leave Red Bull short of another notable figure in its technical staff amid a period of comparative uncompetitiveness.
Who is Paul Monaghan?
Monaghan began his F1 journey at McLaren in 1990, working on cars driven by Ayrton Senna and teammate Gerhard Berger. He would spend the rest of the decade at the team, eventually rising to the position of Data Engineer — working alongside both David Coulthard and Newey, two figures who would reappear later in his career.
He also picked up his famous nickname during this period — “Pedals” — which came from his work with Berger, helping to design custom-made car pedals for the Austrian driver.
In 2000, seeking a new challenge, Paul moved from McLaren to the struggling Benetton squad, which was in the process of becoming the Renault F1 Team. He initially worked as a performance engineer but in mid-season took on the role of Race Engineer for Jenson Button.
After Button’s departure, Monaghan paired with Fernando Alonso, including playing a key role in Alonso’s maiden Grand Prix victory at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix. Monaghan later recalled the period as “hugely exciting, very rewarding — and not without its disagreements.”
After his time with Renault, Monaghan had a brief stint at Jordan Grand Prix before joining Red Bull Racing at the end of 2005, where he has remained ever since.
Monaghan was initially appointed Head of Race and Test Engineering, but over time, this transitioned into the role of Chief Engineer. This position sees him responsible for extracting maximum performance from the team’s machinery across Grand Prix weekend and turning racing concepts into real-world performance gains.
And, as a result, can lay claim to involvement in eight Drivers’ Championships and six Constructors’ Championships.
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