Key Red Bull Figure Exits on Eve of New F1 Season

Veteran Red Bull team member Craig Skinner has left the former Formula 1 constructors' champions on the eve of the new season.

Skinner has been a key part of the team's success, having joined Red Bull ahead of its second year in the sport and spending 20 years in various roles, concluding in his senior position as chief designer, which he took on in 2022 to work alongside Adrian Newey and technical director Pierre Wache.

But just over two weeks before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Skinner has departed the team based in Milton Keynes, England - though it is understood that this is a personal decision and not linked to recent outgoings.

Further changes at Red Bull

Craig Skinner, Red Bull | Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

A number of personnel had been let go in recent months as part of the ongoing refreshing of the squad under Laurent Mekies, who took the helm after Christian Horner's axing midway through the 2025 season.

Further upheaval has seen the retirement of long-standing motorsport advisor Helmut Marko and Newey's move to Aston Martin, while former sporting director Jonathan Wheatley and chief strategist Will Courtenay have also switched team colors by joining Audi and McLaren.

Red Bull faces a challenging season with its in-house manufactured Red Bull-Ford power unit as F1 ushers in new technical regulations, though the performance of the new PU has impressed rivals across the Barcelona shakedown week and the first of two Bahrain pre-season tests.

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull, 2026 F1 pre-season testing | Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Despite the team's seemingly strong position heading into the final week of testing, star driver Max Verstappen is far from happy with F1's new direction,

In a scathing attack in Bahrain, the four-time champion suggested that the new regulations were "anti-racing" and made F1 look like Formula E "on steroids", referencing the management-heavy race style of the all-electric world championship.

Drivers will have to carefully manage their batteries this season with a greater focus on electrical output from the power units, leaving some drained halfway down longer straights. This means cars are markedly slower through high-speed corners, with increased lift-and-coasting expected as drivers attempt to harvest electrical power to recharge their batteries.

Bahrain Test: The Sequel 🔜✌️#F1Testing || #RedBullRacing pic.twitter.com/fmPVWAQrKx
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) February 17, 2026

The first viewing of how this will work in race conditions will come at Melbourne's Albert Park circuit on March 8, before the F1 show travels on to 23 further race weekends.

Abu Dhabi will again host the final round of the campaign, completing a pair of two triple-headers to finish the season. The final week of testing takes place in Bahrain on February 18-20.

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