Ex-Red Bull chief, and Ferrari engineer cleared to start work at McLaren

Former Red Bull chief Rob Marshall and Ferrari engineer David Sanchez are both now free to take up their new positions with McLaren.

As part of its technical restructuring in early 2023, it was announced by McLaren that Marshall and Sanchez would join a technical directors, alongside existing employee Peter Prodromou in a new structure, with each given an area of expertise.

However, as is common practice between teams when senior technical personnel move, both Marshall and Sanchez have been on 'gardening leave.'

This is a mandatory period away from the team they are leaving to ensure that they are out of the loop and cannot take up-to-date information with them to their new team to ensure one team does not have a competitive advantage.

Marshall had been a key Adrian Newey lieutenant as Chief Designer between 2006 and 2016, before stepping up to Chief Engineering Officer.

He has joined as Technical Director, Engineering and Design while ex-Ferrari engineer Sanchez joins as Technical Director, Car Concept and Performance, replacing James Key.

Alongside Prodromou as Technical Director, Aerodynamics, the trio report to Team Principal Andrea Stella - who has called the restructuring a "fundamental enabler" of McLaren's turnaround - who in turn reports to CEO Zak Brown.