Red Bull is set to appoint Tom McCullough as its new head of race engineering, succeeding Gianpiero Lambiase who will join McLaren.
McCullough’s Track‑side Leadership
McCullough will steer all operational matters during the season’s grueling 20‑plus races, coordinating the engineering team’s on‑track initiatives and ensuring optimal data flow at every event.
A Career Spanning Teams and Roles
McCullough spent more than a decade with the Silverstone‑based outfit, navigating its evolutions from Force India, Racing Point to Aston Martin. His tenure culminated as performance director for Aston Martin Performance Technologies, overseeing race‑day strategy and engineer performance.
Prior to that, he started as a data engineer at Williams, then advanced to race engineer for drivers such as Nico Hülkenberg, Rubens Barrichello and Bruno Senna. A brief stint at Sauber as head of track engineering added a third dimension to his skill set before he returned to the Motorsport‑UK sprint.
Lambiase’s Transition to McLaren
Long‑time Red Bull race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, who began his F1 career as a data engineer for Jordan in 2005 before moving to Force India, announced his departure to assume the role of chief racing officer at McLaren. The move, confirmed on 9 April 2026, positions him to join the Woking team in 2028, or sooner, under a new organisational focus.
With Lambiase’s exit, McCullough’s promotion comes at a time when Red Bull seeks continuity in performance optimisation and driver‑engineer synergy—critical components as Max Verstappen and his team chase further championship dominance.
With McCullough’s expertise now wiring Red Bull’s trackside baton, the team’s race‑day continuity could become the pivot in their pursuit of another championship.
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