Red Bull Formula 1 team lays off staff ahead of new season – Just weeks before the new season begins, Red Bull Racing has carried out another round of internal changes, resulting in the dismissal of four employees. According to a PlanetF1 report, the affected staff members were dismissed with immediate effect, continuing a period of significant personnel upheaval within the Milton Keynes-based team.
These latest departures highlight the rapid evolution of Red Bull’s internal structure in recent months. While the team has already undergone major restructuring at senior level, the personnel carousel shows no sign of slowing as the new campaign approaches.
Four employees dismissed without explanation
The PlanetF1 report names Joanna Fleet, Julia George, Simon Smith-Wright and Alice Hedworth as the four individuals affected by the layoffs. All four were working in non-technical roles spanning the human resources, public relations and marketing departments.
According to the report, no official reasons were provided to the employees at the time of their dismissal. Of the quartet, Joanna Fleet had the longest association with Red Bull, having joined the organisation in 2013. Her departure marks the end of her decade-long tenure with the Formula 1 team.
Although Red Bull has not publicly commented on the decision, it adds to a growing list of personnel changes both on and off the track.
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Restructuring accelerated after Horner’s exit
The most dramatic shift at Red Bull came earlier with the dismissal of long-standing team principal Christian Horner. His departure triggered a chain reaction within the organisation, particularly in departments closely aligned with leadership, communications, and branding.
Shortly after Horner’s departure, Oliver Hughes and Paul Smith also left the team. Both were regarded as close confidants of the former team principal and held influential roles within Red Bull’s marketing and communications structure. Their departures were widely regarded as the first clear indication of a broader reset behind the scenes.
The recent layoffs appear to be another step in the ongoing process of reshaping the organisation.
Mintzlaff and Mekies are driving change.
According to PlanetF1, the personnel changes are primarily the doing of Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff and current team principal Laurent Mekies. The pair are said to be keen to bring ‘fresh air’ into the organisation by reassessing existing structures and redefining responsibilities across several departments.
Insiders suggest that the focus is on streamlining operations and aligning Red Bull Racing more closely with its long-term strategic vision, particularly as Formula 1 enters a new regulatory cycle. While such transitions are not unusual in elite motorsport, the scale and pace of the changes at Red Bull are striking.
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The end of an era at Red Bull
Over recent months, Red Bull has seen the departure of three figures long considered central to its modern success: Christian Horner was dismissed, Helmut Marko retired from his role and legendary designer Adrian Newey moved to Aston Martin.
Newey’s departure in particular sent shockwaves through the paddock, given his long-standing influence on Red Bull’s championship-winning cars. Marko’s retirement also marked the end of an era, while Horner’s future remains the subject of intense speculation.
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Horner linked with Formula 1 return
Despite his dismissal, Horner is widely rumoured to be planning a return to Formula 1 in the near future. Reports suggest that he could take on a senior management role at Alpine, where he could bring his experience and leadership style to another rebuilding project.
As Red Bull continues to restructure at every level, the coming months will reveal whether this strengthens the team or creates further instability ahead of a crucial new season.
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As the news and opinion continues to drip out from the ‘private’ test in Barcelona, it is becoming patently clear that the new Formula One era upon us will be significantly different from anything before in the history of the sport.
A number of the drivers who have commented on how they need to adapt their driving styles to deal with the huge amount of energy management, given the new F1 power units now have to power 350kw electric motors some three times more output than previously.
This of course will require a significant amount of harvesting and energy deployment and whilst the teams may devise some algorithms to optimise where and when on the circuit this should happen, it will be the drivers who make the final decision.
Russell predicts “strange” F1 overtaking
Choosing to use “push to pass” coming out of a corner and completing the overtake mid-way down the straight, could lead to a deficit in the electrical power available come the end of the straight. The driver overtaken may then blow back past his rival going into the next turn.
Barcelona gave us absolutely no idea how this will work out in reality, and even the more open testing in Bahrain may well mask how the drivers and cars will behave during a race. Further, each circuit will require a different methodology for harvesting and deploying the electrical power and so for 2026 each team and their engineers will arrive blind at each round of this year’s competition.
Even prior to the test having completed a session in the Mercedes simulator, George Russell observed: “I think you’ll see more overtakes… but more overtakes in obscure locations, in locations where we’ve never seen overtakes before. If a driver’s at the bottom of their battery, and the one behind has more battery in a given section of the track, they can suddenly jump past them at a corner in the past where there would never be an overtake.”
The question is whether this will actually play out during qualifying and racing or where the teams will each opt for similar harvesting and discharging strategies at each circuit. Having discussed the topic following the test with various sorcery, Martin Brundle admits he is “nervous” over the upcoming racing spectacle…CONTINUE TO READ THIS STORY
Alex Stanton is a Formula 1 journalist at TJ13 with a focus on the financial and commercial dynamics that underpin the sport. Alex contributes reporting and analysis on team ownership structures, sponsorship trends, and the evolving business model of Formula 1.
At TJ13, Alex covers topics including manufacturer investment, cost cap implications, and the strategic direction of teams navigating an increasingly complex financial environment. Alex’s work often examines how commercial decisions translate into on-track performance and long-term competitiveness.
With a strong interest in the intersection of sport and business, Alex provides context around Formula 1’s global growth, including media rights, expansion markets, and manufacturer influence.
Alex’s reporting aims to explain the financial realities behind headline stories, helping readers understand how money, governance, and strategy shape the competitive order in Formula 1.
