Red Bull Secures Tom McCullough as Head of Racing from 2027

Red Bull have moved early to reshape their future Formula 1 structure, prising Tom McCullough away from Aston Martin to become head of racing from 2027.

The 50-year-old Briton, one of the paddock’s most respected engineering figures, will step into a role effectively running all sporting and operational aspects of the race team beneath team principal Laurent Mekies. He comes in as the long-term replacement for Gianpiero Lambiase, who is set to join McLaren as chief racing officer by 2028.

Red Bull confirmed McCullough’s arrival in a statement, saying they looked forward to the “wealth of experience and expertise he will bring to the role” when he starts at the beginning of 2027.

This is not a speculative hire. McCullough has lived almost every phase of a modern midfield team’s evolution. He has spent more than a decade with the Silverstone-based outfit now known as Aston Martin, staying through its Force India and Racing Point incarnations and helping to turn limited resources into regular points and podium threats. Before that, his CV already carried weighty names: Williams and Sauber.

Inside Aston Martin, his trajectory changed at the start of 2025. A major restructure pushed him away from the front-line F1 race team and into the performance technologies division. It was a move that raised eyebrows in the paddock; now it looks like the moment Red Bull saw their opening.

The job awaiting him in Milton Keynes is expansive. As head of racing, McCullough will sit at the heart of trackside operations, race strategy, and performance direction, knitting together the sporting side of the organisation while Mekies oversees the broader team leadership. It is the kind of role that can shape how a dominant team evolves once eras change and regulations reset.

Lambiase’s future, though, still hangs over the story. His move to McLaren is confirmed in broad terms but not in detail, with only the outline that he will become chief racing officer there by 2028. The exact timing of his departure from Red Bull remains unresolved.

It is unclear yet whether McCullough’s appointment will smooth negotiations between Red Bull and McLaren over an earlier release for Lambiase. The two teams must still find common ground if he is to leave before the current timeframe.

What is certain is the size of the void he leaves behind. Lambiase has become synonymous with Max Verstappen’s era of dominance, their team radio exchanges offering an unfiltered window into the intensity of modern F1. The blunt, almost telepathic dialogue between driver and race engineer has underpinned some of Verstappen’s most ruthless victories.

Red Bull now have their succession plan on paper. McLaren know who they are waiting for. The question is how quickly this quiet power shift on the pit wall turns into a visible change on Sundays.