The new ‘Team Verstappen’ is born: passing of the baton between twins

News and confirmations With the presentation show in Detroit, Red Bull formally kicked off its 2026 season. For now, everyone’s eyes have focused on the new livery and obviously on the new and highly anticipated motoring partnership with Ford, which will support the home-made power unit from the Milton Keynes team. Meanwhile, behind the scenes the puzzle regarding Max Verstappen’s new working group is also being put together which, as we had already anticipated, will see some key elements change compared to the recent past. The track engineer, Giampiero Lambiase, ultimately decided to stay in Red Bull, but the four-time world champion lost his first mechanic Matt Caller, who migrated to Audi together with the engine engineer David Mart. Control engineer Michael Manning has also left the team while Tom Hart, performance engineer, has already accepted the Williams court but should still wear the Red Bull jacket for 2026. Passing of the baton in the family The Dutch journalist from De Telegraaf Erik van Haren, always very informed on everything relating to the world of Verstappen, has revealed some of the names of the new people who will work with the #3 starting from this season. The new first mechanic especially stands out: Verstappen won’t have to take too long to get used to his face, given that he is Jon Caller, twin brother of the departing Matt. Jon is certainly not new to Red Bull: he has been part of the team since 2018 and since 2024 he has been the first mechanic for Verstappen’s various teammates, working with Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda. Another figure who will move into the Dutch champion’s garage after working for Max’s garage mates is Geoff Ayton, who will be the new Control Systems Engineer of the Red Bull ‘captain’. However, the name of the new engine engineer who will replace Mart is not yet known.