The 'winning expertise' that RB need to challenge for victories

The newly reborn Red Bull sister team might have an eye sore for a name, but they have bolstered their credentials by hiring three experienced technical and trackside personnel in Formula 1.

The standout of those is Alan Permane, who joins after a 34-year stint at Team Enstone under their Benetton, Renault, Lotus, and Alpine guises. After starting off as an electronics engineer, he worked his way up to being a race engineer, Chief Operating Officer, and latterly Sporting Director.

It came as a surprise when he elected to step down from his post at Alpine midway through last year alongside Otmar Szafnauer, but there was never any doubt that he would find a new home on the grid.

A Sporting Director's job in F1 is to maintain all operational and sporting aspects of a team, and someone with Permane's experience will be vital when it comes to understanding the rules.

At RB he will be responsible for all engineering operations at the race track alongside Guillaume Cattelani, who joins as Deputy Technical Director and will report to Jody Egginton who leads the technical effort.

Winning expertise

Since announcing that Franz Tost would leave his post after 18 years at the helm in April last year, the team has been clear from the outset of their ambitions.

Rumours of them being sold off due to poor results and mismanagement were floated during pre-season, which was perhaps a prelude to what was to come at the start of the year.

Instead Red Bull have stuck with the Faenza-based team, determined to exploit every area of the current set of regulations to turn it into a reliable back-up.

Team Principal Laurent Mekies joined from Ferrari, having also worked at the FIA, and noted the "vast amount of winning expertise" with their recent appointments, not least from Tim Goss who will join at a later date in October as Chief Technical Officer.

“The appointments of Tim, Guillaume and Alan add a vast amount of winning expertise to the Team, and I have no doubt that they will help take the team to the next level in F1," said Mekies.

“We already have a very strong and hugely experienced group at the Team and bringing onboard highly-skilled individuals like Tim, Guillaume and Alan will boost our capability and help us meet the highest technical standards at [RB], both at the factory and at the track.”

His 28-year experience with McLaren was also peppered with success, helping to deliver titles to F1 greats Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton.

He most recently served as Technical Director within the FIA, having left during the exodus over the winter of senior staff within the governing body. Their loss is RB's gain, especially given that Goss was primarily focused on the 2026 regulations.

This is perhaps the final piece in the complicated puzzle behind the scenes, as RB's success will not be determined by their finishing position this year alone.

Achieving the highest technical standards

The move to Milton Keynes for closer ties with Red Bull may have triggered some Team Principals, but it is part of their goals to reach the "highest technical standards" - where else would you go over the best chassis makers on the grid?

Technical Director Egginton explained: “In the coming months Guillaume’s focus on aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics will allow us to hone and develop this year’s car and add capability going forward, while Tim’s arrival will absolutely give us the structure we need to create cars that will elevate the team’s performance even further in the coming years."

You get the sense that this is being treated as a rebuild job internally, following their mid-season updates and chaotic driver changes throughout 2023 - an RB 2.0 if you like.

It's no secret that Red Bull's corporate management has been disappointed with how the team has been ran over the last couple of years, but now they have a clean slate to work from with some of the most experienced and knowledgable heads in the business.