Red Bull told how to avoid F1 implosion after brain drain

Karun Chandhok has warned Red Bull must make a major signing to arrest the damaging exodus of personnel that threatens to unravel the Milton Keynes-based team.

The former F1 driver highlighted the precarious position facing team principal Laurent Mekies and Red Bull after a succession of high-profile departures has left the six-time constructors' champions struggling in sixth place in the standings, three rounds into the season.

Red Bull has lost a raft of senior figures over the past two years, with legendary designer Adrian Newey departing for Aston Martin, whilst McLaren poached chief designer Rob Marshall in 2023 and head of strategy Will Courtenay in 2024.

Sporting director Jonathan Wheatley left for Audi in 2024, whilst team principal Christian Horner was dismissed in July 2025, followed by the exit of motorsport advisor Helmut Marko in December. Chief designer Craig Skinner also departed in 2026.

Most significantly, Max Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase announced he will join McLaren by 2028 at the latest as chief racing officer, a move Chandhok identified as potentially triggering further defections.

Speaking on Sky Sport's podcast, The F1 Show, he said: "I think the culture point is really important, right? Because at the end of the day, you look at Red Bull last year, they won six out of the last nine grands prix.

"The car improved a hell of a lot. They arguably had the fastest car at a lot of that back end of the season last year, or at least equal fastest. Clearly, people need more than just success on track.

"And I think for whatever reason, this brain drain has gone on, and there's a cultural shift that has happened throughout the organisation."

Red Bull's recruitment challenge

Chandhok went on to explain the jeopardy facing Red Bull if Mekies and senior figures, with the significant risk of further high-profile names walking out the door.

He added: "There's a big job there for Laurent Mekies and the ownership from Red Bull in Austria to figure out 'how are we going to stop this? How are we going to stop the brain drain? How do we make ourselves attractive?'

"Right now, you want to attract people from Mercedes," the former F1 driver added. "They're the ones winning. You have to try to rebuild.

"I think one of the things that they've got to be worried about is that good people attract other good people. How long before GP [Gianpiero Lambiase] starts calling the other 20 people who are sitting in their engineering office and saying, 'hey, you know what, guys? This place down at Woking, this is a really nice place to work. How do you fancy coming down here?'

"And all of a sudden, how long before that core group starts to break up? We've seen it so many times."

Chandhok pointed to historical precedent of key figures attracting talent as they move between teams.

"Adrian Newey went from team to team to team and dragged good people," he said. "Ross Brawn did the same. I think that's something Red Bull really needs to be worried about.

"They need a big-name signing, not just for the skill set that person can bring, but the people that they will attract."