Red Bull has lost another engineer from close to Max Verstappen, and the pattern is starting to look like a trend. Michael Manning, part of the champion's garage for the best part of ten years, is joining Williams — one more exit from a team that recently boasted the strongest technical roster in Formula 1.
Manning broke the news himself, and did it with enthusiasm rather than grievance. "I'm delighted to share that I've begun a new challenge as Atlassian Williams F1 Team's Chief Engineer – Trackside Engineering," he wrote. "Williams' engineering heritage is among the most storied in Formula 1. However, it is the ambition for the future that drew me to this role. There is a genuine hunger at Grove to return to the sharp end of the grid." Reuniting with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, he added, was "a real highlight," the trio having crossed paths earlier in their careers.
The outflow runs well beyond one name. Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen's long-time race engineer and radio foil, is heading to McLaren. David Mart has joined Audi, Tom Hart is tipped to follow Manning to Grove, and the marquee losses came earlier still: Adrian Newey to Aston Martin, Jonathan Wheatley to Audi, Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay both to McLaren.
Sky Sports' David Croft says it's the quiet departures that should worry Milton Keynes. "They've lost a lot of staff now. And not just the headline staff, but people underneath as well," he noted, though he stopped short of calling it a rout. "It's not people deserting a sinking ship, but it's people thinking that their success in their careers can lie elsewhere."
Karun Chandhok frames it as a retention problem money alone can't solve. "Clearly, people need more than just success on track," he said. "There's a big job there for Laurent Mekies and the ownership from Red Bull in Austria to figure out 'how are we going to stop this?'" The fix, he suggested, is a signing that pulls others in its wake: "Good people attract other good people. They need a big-name signing, not just for the skill set that person can bring, but the people that they will attract."
All of it feeds the Verstappen question. He is under contract to 2028 but holds performance clauses that could let him leave earlier — and yet Chandhok doubts the staff losses are what would tip him out. "I don't know if that will necessarily be the reason Max leaves," he said, pointing instead to a possible break: "I suspected Max would take a sabbatical from F1. I thought he'd do it in 2026 or 2027."
Winless and seventh in the standings, Verstappen is watching the crew that delivered four titles disperse team by team. Whether he anchors the rebuild or becomes the next name out could shape Red Bull's entire off-season.
