Red Bull adds technical director role to team structure

Red Bull Racing has created a new post of technical director to bolster its development team in 2018.

Adrian Newey remains Red Bull's chief technical officer. But he will now be joined by Pierre Wache in the new role.

Wache started his Formula 1 career at Michelin before moving to Sauber in 2006. He joined Red Bull in 2013, and was most recently the chief engineer responsible for performance issues.

"It’s part of our evolution,” Horner told Motorsport.com in Barcelona. "Adrian remains CTO, Pierre has moved into a central role as technical director."

Horner said that the changes did not mean a further reduced role for Newey.

“These regulations have definitely got Adrian’s creative juices flowing,” he told Sky Sports News. “He’s contributing well into the team, and enjoying these regulations."

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However Newey does have interests outside of Formul1 1, which is why Red Bull have decided to support him with the new technical director position.

"Obviously [Adrian] is spinning a couple of plates at the moment with the Aston Martin road car projects and F1," Horner agreed. "But it’s great to see him motivated and enjoying F1 again.”

Other key technical personnel remain unchanged, with Rob Marshall remaining as chief engineering officer and Dan Fallows still acting as head of aerodynamics.

Similarly, Paul Monaghan will continue in his role of chief engineer responsible for car engineering.

His time at Michelin made Wache a tyre and mechanical specialist, after he had initially completed a PhD in fluid mechanics. It gives the Frenchman a complimentary set of skills to those of Newey.

“I understand what this position represents,” Wache told L’Equipe. “And the risk that comes with it.

"I won't say it scares me," he insisted. "But I know the results that are asked with it. And I would like to show that I’m capable of achieving them."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.