Aston Martin has recently distinguished itself by gathering technical personnel. With Adrian Newey at the helm, various engineers have been arriving at Fernando Alonso’s team lately, but now Aston Martin has just suffered a setback: Red Bull has poached one of its best Formula 1 engineers.
The man in question is Tom McCullough, head of race engineering at Aston Martin for more than a decade, dating back to when the team was still Force India. McCullough told Aston Martin his goodbye a few weeks ago, and now we know the reason: he has signed with Red Bull to be Max Verstappen’s right-hand man.
Tom McCullough Leaves Aston Martin for Red Bull
Tom McCullough leaves Aston Martin. The British engineer informed the Fernando Alonso team of his intention to depart a few days ago, and now the German outlet Bild has confirmed the reason: McCullough has signed with Red Bull to become their new head of race engineering, the same role he held at Aston Martin.
McCullough had been with Aston Martin since 2014, more than a decade, when he arrived after a brief stint at Sauber. He has spent so long with the team that when he started it was called Force India, and after that it moved to Racing Point until the current Aston Martin. But the relationship has broken unexpectedly in 2026.
McCullough has received an offer to join Red Bull as head of track engineering. In fact, Red Bull wants him to occupy the post that will be left vacant by Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen’s right-hand man, who has already announced he would join McLaren from the 2028 Formula 1 season.
The signing of McCullough is viewed as strategic by Red Bull for a clear reason: they need to find a replacement for Lambiase who earns Verstappen’s trust to the same extent as the Italian, in order to dispel the rumors of a possible Verstappen departure, with whom it has been said he could be considering McLaren.
What remains unknown for now is the garden leave period McCullough will have to serve at Aston Martin before being able to join Red Bull. But, certainly, the Fernando Alonso team will now have to find a suitable successor for McCullough, whose role on race weekends is crucial.
A minor hiccup that Aston Martin and Adrian Newey will have to manage before Formula 1 gets back underway.
Images | Aston Martin, Red Bull
