Is McLaren making a leap forward? Horner is not worried
Red Bull Contentpool
F1 News
Former Red Bull Racing technical chief Rob Marshall and former Ferrari engineer David Sanchez have joined McLaren's team. After mandatory gardening leave, they may finally start. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner is little concerned about these changes.
It always remains tensive for Formula 1 teams when employees leave for other Formula 1 teams. This is because they could easily take secret information with them and use it in their new team. To prevent this, gardening leave has been used in F1.
This means that mainly technical staff are not allowed to hold positions elsewhere for a while after leaving an organisation. This can last up to a year, and the old team continues to pay salaries during that time.
Long history at Red Bull Racing
Rob Marshall has a long history with the Milton Keynes-based team. In fact, he has worked for the team since 2006, so he has experienced all of Red Bull's success. At McLaren, he will take up the position of technical director of engineering and design. David Sanchez will become the new technical director of car concept and performance.
This technical restructuring is seen as fundamental towards the top for McLaren. As such, the British team is seen as one of Red Bull's biggest competitors for 2024. Yet team boss Christian Horner is not much worried.
Horner is not worried
"I think McLaren had a great second half of the year," Horner told Sky Sports. "There were times when they were our closest competitor. They have strengthened their team and Rob will be an asset, but it's not just about one person. There are seven or eight hundred people in an F1 team and it needs the whole team to come together. With Lando (Norris) and Oscar (Piastri) - who was really impressive as a debutant - they could well be a factor next year."