Max Verstappen delivers verdict for rivals on Rob Marshall Red Bull exit

Max Verstappen has downplayed the impact Rob Marshall’s departure for McLaren will have on Red Bull.

Recently, McLaren confirmed that they have secured the services of long-time Red Bull man Rob Marshall as one of their three technical heads on the F1 team.

Marshall will assume the role of technical director for engineering and design, alongside Pedro Prodromou on aerodynamics and David Sanchez on car concept and performance.

McLaren have to wait until January ’24 for both Sanchez and Marshall to take up their new roles, due to being on gardening leave from Ferrari and Red Bull, respectively.

Marshall had been with Red Bull since 2006, working as a chief designer and chief engineering officer – working directly alongside renowned designer Adrian Newey to create the machines that swept all before them between 2010 and ’13, as well as the 2021 and ’22 title winning cars.

Max Verstappen: Rob Marshall hasn’t been as involved recently

Speaking about Marshall’s departure to McLaren after such a long and successful spell at Red Bull, Max Verstappen said the engineer hasn’t been directly involved in hands-on work for some time.

“Well, I think a lot of people have made this very big, some media too”, Verstappen told the Dutch subsidiary of Motorsport.com.

“But in reality, he was no longer so involved in the car we have now. He was more on long-term projects, for example, towards 2026.”

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Given the 2026 ruleset for the chassis hasn’t yet been solidified, this would suggest Marshall had been working more on the burgeoning Red Bull Powertrains project, as Ford come on board as engine partners from that season onward.

While Verstappen said it would have been preferable to keep Marshall in the Red Bull fold, he made it clear that he didn’t blame the 55-year-old for chasing a big-money contract as he closes in on the end of his career.

“Of course, we would have preferred to keep him,” he said.

“But if you know what he has been offered by McLaren, I understand that he is going there for a few years. Then he can go fishing, I think!”

Christian Horner: Rob Marshall played a key role in building Red Bull

Speaking about the departing engineer, Horner was keen to emphasise the major part Marshall played in building up Red Bull over the years, and laughed at the figure McLaren must have tempted him with.

“I think, McLaren spends that half of the budget ceiling on the offer for him!” he said.

“In that respect, you can’t blame him for wanting to go that way.

“Although his contract with us went through for a while, he wanted to be directly involved with Formula 1 himself. As a result, we have made an agreement with him and I made a deal with Zak Brown, a deal that works well for everyone in my view.

“He has worked for us for 17 years and done some excellent things, such as packaging the battery at the gearbox and the operation of the KERS system from 2009 to 2013.

“He has played a significant role in building Red Bull Racing. During the last debrief we did something special for Rob. When someone goes to another team, you normally say to him ‘F**k off’, but with Rob it is different. He’s just a good guy.”