Red Bull has been busy pondering whether to keep Sergio Perez amidst his poor form. Well, the scenario looks like the team should not be worried about the Mexican racer who wants to stay on, rather, the team needs to think about those key officials who are leaving in 2025. First, it was Adrian Newey, the aero-engineer who earned the name of a “wizard” in Formula 1. The Briton announced his exit from RBR earlier, and following the same route, another member from Christian Horner’s army has also decided to leave.

Red Bull’s Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley has decided to leave his role for a new challenge. He will join Audi as the Team Principal since the German squad is bracing for its F1 debut in 2026. This news comes in the wake of reports that claimed Andreas Seidl, the existing boss of Audi, has announced leaving his position abruptly. So, Wheatley has to replace Seidl as a major post at the current World Championship-winning team is now vacant.

For nearly two decades, Wheatley has been an important part of Red Bull. He has been the force behind the team setting two pitstop records and has also garnered popularity in the 2021 season. At that time, he had spoken to Michael Masi about letting the lapped cars at the Championship decider race un-lap themselves. In fact, it was Wheatley’s cold manipulation of Masi that allegedly helped Max Verstappen win his debut F1 World title.

Speaking on Jonathan Wheatley’s exit, Christian Horner said, “It has been a long and successful relationship with Jonathan, over 18 years. His contribution to six World Constructors’ Titles and seven World Drivers’ Championships, first as Team Manager and latterly Sporting Director will forever be a marker in our team history.” The loss of two major players in Red Bull’s Championship chase might hurt the team in future seasons. However, McLaren’s Zak Brown had predicted that more woe awaits the Austrian team in the upcoming days. So, what did he say?

Zak Brown once foretold how Red Bull would lose key players one by one

Red Bull showed an insane level of performance in the 2022 Championship. As the team ended Mercedes’ dominant run in F1 after 8 long years, Horner’s army seemed virtually unbeatable. However, the times have changed now as Mercedes and McLaren are currently going at Red Bull at almost every Grand Prix. And the situation seems worse for RBR as it keeps losing key officials.

After Adrian Newey‘s exit, Zak Brown had said, “My guess is [that Adrian Newey leaving] is not the last, based on the resumes that are flying around.” But what is the reason behind so many people leaving Max Verstappen’s team? As per the McLaren CEO, “Red Bull is a pretty toxic environment with everything that’s been going on. There are more [resignations] to come.“

Well, Red Bull might have lost some of its trusted members but it is still reigning at the top right now. Going into the F1 2024 summer break, the Milton-Keynes squad has built a lead of 42 points over McLaren. But this is not at all insurmountable for the papaya army. So, are we going to see a huge fight for the Constructors’ Championship in the season finale? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.