Audi point to Red Bull influence behind stunning F1 turnaround

Audi boss Allan McNish has pointed to the influence of former Red Bull chief mechanic Lee Stevenson for the team's turnaround in trackside operations, including pit-stops. 

Stevenson, who rose through the Red Bull ranks to become chief mechanic to Max Verstappen, left in 2024 to join Sauber/Stake as it prepared for Audi's 2026 arrival. 

Stevenson has now been promoted into the team manager role at Audi, a role similar to that which Jonathan Wheatley held at Red Bull, during which time his pit-crew was regarded as the best in the pit-lane, holding the world record for the fastest pit-stop until McLaren pinched it at the 2023 Qatar GP with a 1.8s stop for Lando Norris.

At the Dutch and Italian Grands Prix, Audi set the fastest pit-stop during the races, a remarkable rise from 2024 when the team was battling a costly technical issue in its stops, involving the wheel nuts.

Reflecting on the efforts at Zandvoort and Monza, racing director McNish pointed to Stevenson's influence on the team's trackside operations. 

"It was a technical issue; it was in 2024, actually, and it was the technical issue at that point," McNish told media, including RacingNews365, when first presented with a question about the pit-stops. 

"And this has been an area that's been worked on really through the end of last year, beginning of this year. In terms of the team, so Lee, who came to us last year, middle of 2025,  he's got a good feel for what we needed to do. 

"At the end of the day, the team there is the same people pretty much, and they're delivering it very, very well and consistently now. Because in Zandvoort, it was always the quickest as well, and also the other thing from my point of view, it's not just necessarily one stop, but when we have multiple stops, all the stops are good, and so the team there are working very well.

"That's important for us as well because we've got to take every advantage out of the race that we can. It's not as if there's much of a delta in this midfield, and so they've definitely delivered the opportunity for the drivers to take more out of the race. 

"I wouldn't say we inherited [Stevenson's strengths], but I think we we have developed it. But at the end of the day, that was one of the reasons that Lee came on board was to build the team within the garage.

"I think he and the team that's in there have done a very good job. You just see them now, the way that they conduct not just the pit stops but also all of the work on the cars. It's very good to see."