Red Bull Racing has confirmed that its long-serving Chief Designer, Craig Skinner, has left the team with immediate effect, bringing an end to a two-decade association with one of Formula 1’s most successful outfits.
His departure comes at a significant moment for the Milton Keynes-based squad, which is preparing for a new era in the sport under revised regulations and with its own in-house power unit project underway.
Craig Skinner Career Highlights
Craig Skinner joined Red Bull in 2006 and has contributed significantly to the company’s technical side over the past 20 years by helping to design and produce championship-winning vehicles.
He had strong relationships with Adrian Newey, the former designer and recently hired at Aston Martin Formula 1 Team and Pierre Wache, Red Bull’s current technical director.
The three of them comprised the main leadership team that developed the dominant cars built by the organisation in recent years.
Role in Championship Success
Skinner also played a very important role in Red Bull’s modern era of dominance. Over 2021 and 2024, Red Bull won back-to-back championships with its driver, Max Verstappen, behind the wheel.
Each year during that period, Red Bull produced race cars that were competitive due to aerodynamic efficiency, race pace and reliability.
Skinner’s proficiency in developing chassis aids Red Bull in maintaining competitiveness through the changing technical regulations.
All of the work by Skinner’s engineering group enables Verstappen to continually compete for race and championship wins, making Red Bull a benchmark of excellence within Formula 1 racing.
Recent Developments
Under Laurent Mekies’ direction, Red Bull finished their last season very well by making upgrades to the car, which helped improve performance dramatically and allowed Verstappen to win six out of the last nine races, keeping him in the championship chase until the final round.
On the day before the Bahrain pre-season second test, Red Bull announced that Craig Skinner had left his position. Red Bull also thanked him for his “hard work and commitment” over the last 20 years and wished him all the best for his future!
Currently, it has been reported that his role will have interim management within the Team, but there have been no further details released regarding where he will go next.
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