Thu Sep 19 08:06:00 UTC 2024: ## Red Bull Restructures Race Team Ahead of Wheatley’s Departure

Red Bull Racing has announced a significant reshuffle of its technical management team, effective immediately. This follows the departure of Jonathan Wheatley, who is set to join Audi next season.

The most notable promotion is that of **Gianpiero Lambiase**, Max Verstappen’s long-time engineer, who has been elevated to the role of **Head of Racing**. Lambiase, who currently leads the team’s race engineering, will now oversee the race team, heritage team, car build team, strategy group, and sporting regulations. He will report directly to technical director Pierre Wache.

Several other key appointments have been made:

* **Steve Knowles**, the team’s Senior Strategy Engineer, will now become **Head of Sporting**, responsible for regulatory issues and reporting to Lambiase.
* **Rich Wolverson**, currently Senior Engineer – Car Engineering, will become **Head of Race Team Operations**, overseeing the day-to-day operations of both the race and heritage teams.
* **Gerrard O’Reilly**, previously Head of Freight Operations, will assume responsibility for **Race Team Support and Logistics**.
* **Phil Turner**, Chief Mechanic, has been promoted to **Factory Operations Manager**.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner expressed his confidence in the team’s new structure: “We are in the midst of a period of significant change and development,” he stated. “In light of the challenges to come, we have made the decision to alter the structure of the race team. These appointments will serve to give us greater capacity across a number of crucial areas and ultimately will, I believe, make the team more competitive.”

He also praised the promotion of individuals from within the team: “For me, it is especially rewarding to have promoted people from within. We have a huge resource of exceptionally talented people at Red Bull and I am delighted that we can give them the opportunity to shine in roles that were not previously open. It’s a step forward for the team as a whole.”

The reshuffle is seen as a strategic move by Red Bull to ensure continued success in the face of upcoming regulatory changes and the departure of key personnel. While Lambiase will continue to engineer Verstappen over race weekends, his new role will see him take on a broader leadership responsibility within the team.

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