Red Bull Appoints Tom McCullough as Head of Racing from 2027
Red Bull have moved early in the next big reshuffle of Formula 1 power, prising Tom McCullough away from Aston Martin to take on the key role of head of racing from 2027.
The 50-year-old Briton, one of the paddock’s most respected operators, will step into the position currently occupied by Gianpiero Lambiase, who is bound for McLaren as their future chief racing officer by 2028.
Red Bull confirmed the appointment with a pointed nod to McCullough’s pedigree, saying they looked forward to the “wealth of experience and expertise” he will bring when he arrives at the start of 2027. This is not a cosmetic hire. It is a structural one.
A proven race-team architect
McCullough’s fingerprints have been on some of the sharpest overachievers of the past decade. He has been a central figure at the Silverstone outfit in all its incarnations – Force India, Racing Point and now Aston Martin – helping to turn a perennial midfield survivor into a podium threat.
Before that, he cut his teeth at Williams and Sauber, learning the trade in very different environments and under very different pressures. That breadth of experience is precisely what Red Bull are buying.
His trajectory shifted in January 2025, when an internal restructure moved him away from Aston Martin’s F1 race team and into their performance technologies division. On paper, it was a sideways move. In reality, it made him a prime target for rivals looking to strengthen their race-operations core.
At Red Bull, his new job will be anything but sideways. The head of racing role will effectively oversee all trackside and race-team activity under team principal Laurent Mekies, placing McCullough at the heart of strategy, operations and execution on grand prix weekends.
The Lambiase question
His arrival also drops straight into one of the most intriguing storylines in the paddock: the future of Gianpiero Lambiase and his long-running partnership with Max Verstappen.
Lambiase is set to leave Red Bull for McLaren to become their chief racing officer by 2028, but the exact timing of that move remains deliberately vague. Any early exit will require a negotiated settlement between the two teams.
Whether McCullough’s appointment smooths that process is now a central question. With a heavyweight replacement signed and dated, Red Bull have a clearer succession plan. That could, in theory, loosen their grip on Lambiase’s contract.
For now, though, Lambiase remains the voice in Verstappen’s ear, the man behind one of the most direct and unfiltered driver-engineer relationships on the grid. Their radio exchanges have become part of the sport’s soundtrack, a blend of blunt honesty and icy calm at 300kph.
Red Bull have moved to secure their next era of race leadership. The only unknown is how quickly the current one will be allowed to walk out of the door.
