Will Courtney has become McLaren's sporting director.

      Former Red Bull Racing chief strategist Will Courtney has started work at McLaren, becoming the team's sporting director.

      Courtney's move to McLaren was announced in September 2024, but his contract with Red Bull Racing only expired in mid-2026, and an agreement on early termination could not be reached.

      As a result, Courtney spent the entire 2025 season in his previous role at Red Bull Racing, and was only released now, which Courtney reported on social media.

      Will Courtney: "After 22 years at Red Bull Racing, the last fifteen as head of the strategy department, I am pleased to announce that I am now taking on a new challenge by joining McLaren Racing as the Formula 1 team's sporting director.

      I want to express my huge gratitude to everyone I worked with at Red Bull. There I made many wonderful friends, and I hope to see many of them again in the paddock. It has been an incredible twenty-plus years.

      I now look forward to settling into my new role and new team, and, hopefully, making new friends, and I will do my utmost to help McLaren build on their recent successes in the years to come."