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Former Red Bull Head of Strategy Will Courtenay announced on his LinkedIn on Sunday that he has formally made the move to McLaren as Sporting Director. The news of Will Courtenay leaving for McLaren first broke near the tail end of the 2024 season, with a timeline indicating that Courtenay would not join the papaya-clad team until his Red Bull contract expired in mid-2026. Courtenay was announced to be leaving a few months early. 22 days before the first pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and will start the 2026 campaign with McLaren, hoping to add to their streak of two constructors' championships and back up Lando Norris’ World Drivers’ Championship.
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Courtenay’s departure was initially announced in 2024, followed by two other major departures from the Austrian organization. First, with Adrian Newey moving to Aston Martin, initially set to be just the managing technical partner, and later announced as interim Team Principal, then Jonathan Wheatley moved to Sauberahead of the Audi transition.
Since Courtenay’s departure was first announced, Red Bull has undergone a team principal change, terminating Christian Horner in the summer, promoting Laurent Mekies from Racing Bulls, and seeing Helmut Marko depart following the conclusion of the 2025 season.
At the time of the signing, McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella told F1.com, “We are delighted to welcome Will to McLaren. His experience, professionalism, and passion for motorsport make him the ideal candidate to lead our F1sporting function.
We are now entering a key phase in our journey as a team, and we are confident that he will be a great addition to our strong leadership team as we strive to continue challenging for wins and championships."
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Courtenay will work under Racing Director Randeep Singh, who has served in that role since January 2024, after moving up from Director of Strategy and Sporting. Singh has been with McLaren since the summer of 2015.
With significant changes to the rule package ahead of the 2026 season, it makes sense for teams on both sides of the transaction to release a member early from their contract.
Courtenay updated his LinkedIn profile on Sunday afternoon to share that he’s officially the Sporting Director at McLaren Racing.
"After 22 years at Red Bull Racing, the last 15 as Head of Race Strategy there, I’m excited to say I’m now embarking on a new challenge, joining the McLaren Racing Formula1 Team as Sporting Director.
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"I’d like to say a huge thanks to everyone I worked with at Red Bull. I made so many great friends there, and I hope I’ll still see many of you in the paddock. It was an incredible two and a bit decades.
"But now I’m looking forward to settling into my new role and team, and hopefully making plenty more new friends, as I do my very best to help McLaren continue its recent success in the coming years."
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