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red bull racing extends contract of three leaders

Void at Red Bull? These three figures recently extended their contracts

6 May at 14:30
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  • Corwin Kunst

Adrian Newey may be leaving Red Bull Racing, but Max Verstappen's team struck a major blow earlier this year with contract extensions for three front-runners. Pierre Waché, Enrico Balbo and Ben Waterhouse signed new long-term commitments just before the start of this season. The key staff members who will take care of the development of the 2026 car are thus retained for the Milton Keynes-based formation.

Technical director Waché extended his contract until 2028 and will therefore remain linked to Austrian squad for the next four seasons as well, Red Bull Racing confirmed to GPblog. The 49-year-old Frenchman had already been in charge of the development of Red Bull's cars in recent years and the successes currently being achieved are largely also to his credit. Waché - and not Newey - together with Balbo had been in day-to-day charge for some time.

Also read:
- Who is Pierre Wache, and is he the man to take over from Newey?

Waché therefore has a great track record at Red Bull. He has been involved in Formula 1 since 2001. He started his career at tyre supplier Michelin, before making a switch to his first job as a performance engineer in Formula 1 at BMW Sauber. In 2013, Waché made the move to Red Bull, where he worked his way up steadily.

Balbo and Waterhouse also extend

Balbo (Head of Aerodynamics) and Waterhouse (Head of Performance Engineering) also both signed a new multi-year deal at Red Bull Racing, GPblog found out. Like Waché, they are now fixed in their roles until 2028. So the technical base will remain intact in the coming years, even though the racing stable will have to do without Newey's insights. The top designer announced last week that he will leave Red Bull after 18 years.

With the contract extensions of Waché, Balbo and Waterhouse, Red Bull will keep a lot of important knowledge in house towards 2026. From that season, the new regulations will enter Formula 1 and a whole new car will have to be built. The development of that car may and will start early next season. With this trio, who will be the architects of the car, presumably named RB22.

Last year, there were frequent reports in the Italian media that Ferrari were seriously interested in bringing in Waché and Balbo. A deal did not materialise and, with the recent contract extensions, the superpower from Maranello do not seem to need to knock again.

Are Red Bull staff looking for a way out?

Christian Horner hinted in Miami on Friday that key technicians all have current contracts. The team principal did so after Zak Brown let slip that several Red Bull Racing engineers had sent their CVs to competitors to see if they could pursue their futures elsewhere. Toto Wolff confirmed those words from the McLaren CEO.

Whether those words from Brown and Wolff are true or not; at least Waché, Balbo and Waterhouse are not going anywhere for now.