FORMER RED BULL MECHANIC SAYS HANNA SCHMITZ COULD BE NEXT TO LEAVE AFTER GIANPIERO LAMBIASE

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Ex-Red Bull mechanic Kenny Handkammer has claimed that Hannah Schmitz could be the next senior figure to leave the team.

In recent times, Red Bull have been hit with several high-profile exits, including the likes of Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay.

Last week, another senior departure was confirmed as Gianpiero Lambiase is set to leave Red Bull for McLaren in 2028.

Lambiase is set to become Chief Racing Officer at McLaren and will report to team principal Andrea Stella.

Less than a week after Lambiase’s departure was confirmed, it has been claimed that another senior figure could leave.

Hannah Schmitz could be next to leave Red Bull after Gianpiero Lambiase

Speaking on The Two Mechanics podcast, Handkammer claimed that the current Head of Strategy, Schmitz, could be next in line to leave the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Handkammer said: “The decline of Red Bull is quite sad. If I were the CEO of Red Bull global, I’d be thinking. Look who he has lost, Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, Gianpiero Lambiase and Will Courtenay.

“It looks like Hannah Schmitz, Head of Strategy, is rumoured to go too, all these massive key people and talks are there’s going to be more. That’s a real head scratcher. How do you reconfigure the team?”

Who is Hannah Schmitz and what is her role at Red Bull?

Schmitz, 40, is regarded as one of the most talented figures in the Formula 1 paddock, having joined Red Bull back in 2009 as a Modelling and Strategy Engineer.

In 2011, Schmitz became Senior Strategy Engineer before being promoted to Principal Strategy Engineer in 2021. In 2026, she became Red Bull’s Head of Race Strategy following Courtenay’s move to McLaren.

Schmitz has previously been praised for playing a major role in a number of Red Bull victories.

Following the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen labelled Schmitz as ‘insanely calm’ after the Dutchman won the race from P10.

He said: “You can’t afford many mistakes. It’s of course very hard to always be on the good side, let’s say it like that. But I think we have a lot of good guys and girls in the team.

“Today, I think Hannah, our strategist, was insanely calm. Yeah, she’s very good.”

With several big names already out the door, Red Bull will have to keep the likes of Schmitz in the team if they want to prevent Verstappen from engineering his own exit.

JOS VERSTAPPEN WARNS RED BULL: 'TOO MANY' ENGINEERS LEAVING

 

Jos Verstappen is concerned by the number of exits that are taking place at Red Bull. Clive Mason/Getty Images

Max Verstappen's father, Jos, believes "too many" big name engineers are leaving Red Bull and said he warned the team it would happen earlier this year.

Jos Verstappen raised concerns about the management of Red Bull during the opening round of the 2024 season in Bahrain after team principal Christian Horner was accused of controlling behaviour by a female employee.

"It can't go on the way it is. It will explode", he told the Daily Mail. "There is tension here while he remains in position."

Horner was cleared of wrongdoing following an internal investigation launched by the Red Bull parent company and retained his position at the team.

However, in the months that followed, several key members of the Red Bull team have announced their upcoming departure from the team as results on track have dipped.

In May, it was confirmed that chief technical officer Adrian Newey would leave in early 2025 and it has since been announced he will join rivals Aston Martin.

Sporting director Jonathan Wheatley is set to leave Red Bull to become team principal of Audi's new F1 project next year, while head of strategy, Will Courtenay, is set to leave for McLaren when his contract expires.

"Yes, this is what I warned about", Jos Verstappen told Motorsport.com at a rally in Belgium last weekend.

"The team then says: 'Oh, it doesn't matter, we have someone else [who we can put on that position].'

"But it's too many people now [leaving].

"And Max gets questions about it every time and so on. So yeah, I think it's just not good, what's happening at the moment."

Max Verstappen's own future at the team was in question this year until Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff met with the his management over the summer break and broke off talks.

The three-time world champion is set to stay at Red Bull for 2025 and has a contract until the end of 2028, but has still been linked to a move away from the team for 2026.

- Laurence Edmondson, F1 Editor