Red Bull hires Aston Martin engineer Tom McCullough as head of racing

Red Bull has confirmed the appointment of long-time Aston Martin engineer Tom McCullough as its new head of racing, replacing McLaren-bound Gianpiero Lambiase.

Lambiase is due to join McLaren in 2028 as its chief racing officer, reporting to team principal Andrea Stella. He currently combines his role as Max Verstappen’s race engineer with the broader “head of racing” position at Red Bull.

Verstappen’s former performance engineer, Tom Hart, has already decided against moving to Williams and will instead take over as Verstappen’s race engineer from 2027. Red Bull has now also secured Lambiase’s successor in McCullough, who will join the Milton Keynes team at the beginning of 2027.

“We’re delighted to welcome Tom to the team at the beginning of 2027 and look forward to the wealth of experience and expertise he will bring to the role,” the team said in a statement.

Tom McCullough’s Formula 1 career

McCullough was a long-serving member of Aston Martin through its Force India and Racing Point eras. He spent four seasons as chief race engineer before becoming the team’s performance director, a position he held until the end of the 2024 season.

Following a restructuring at Aston Martin in early 2025, former team principal Mike Krack assumed McCullough’s responsibilities. McCullough subsequently moved to a senior leadership role working on non-Formula 1 projects at Aston Martin Performance Technologies, a position he is now set to leave.

The 50-year-old began his career with chassis manufacturer Reynard and later held roles at Sauber and Williams.