The massive exodus at Red Bull may continue, hints former mechanic Kenny Handkammer. The Englishman predicts that acclaimed strategist Hannah Schmitz will leave the team. The racing team has already parted ways with several key figures in a relatively short time, including Rob Marshall, Will Courtenay, Jonathan Wheatley, and Adrian Newey. Recently, the departure of race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase was also announced.
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After a turbulent 2025, in which Red Bull could only seriously compete for the world championship in the second half of the season, the former world champions have not improved in the current F1 season. Max Verstappen’s team looks back on the worst start to a season in over ten years and is currently in the midfield rather than at the forefront. Amid this sporting crisis, the Dutch top driver is openly flirting with retirement. Lambiase – his right-hand man at Red Bull for many years – has also announced that he will move to McLaren after 2027.
Hannah Schmitz
The Austrian racing team may soon also have to say goodbye to top strategist Hannah Schmitz. In the The Two Mechanics podcast, former Red Bull mechanic Kenny Handkammer claimed that the British woman is considering a transfer. “The decline of Red Bull is quite sad,” said Handkammer. “If I were the CEO, I would seriously ask myself: ‘Who have I lost?’ Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, Gianpiero Lambiase, Will Courtenay,” he listed.
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“It seems that Hannah Schmitz is also leaving,” he continued. “That’s already a lot of important people, and it seems more will follow. How can you then reshape the team? That is really a mystery.” Schmitz joined the team in 2009 as a strategy engineer and has since worked her way up to become one of the most important links in the Red Bull machine. Her watertight strategies have contributed to several important victories for Verstappen.
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