Red Bull’s veteran Method 1 chief designer Craig Skinner has left the Milton Keynes group, Autosport can affirm.
Skinner was an integral a part of its success in current seasons, because it established a second period of dominance powering Max Verstappen to 4, consecutive titles from 2021 to 2024.
Nonetheless, following rumours of his departure, Purple Bull confirmed to Autosport that Skinner has moved on from the function. His exit isn’t considered related to earlier high-profile departures on the group lately.
An engineering graduate from the College of Glasgow, Skinner joined Purple Bull initially of the 2006 season, across the identical time as design legend Adrian Newey, as a CFD engineer earlier than graduating to senior roles inside the aerodynamics division.
Following a four-year stint as chief of aerodynamics, Skinner turned the chief designer in 2022, working intently with Newey and technical director Pierre Wache.
Craig Skinner, Purple Bull Racing Chief Designer
Picture by: Purple Bull Content material Pool
Newey has since left for Aston Martin, and following the exit of ex-team boss Christian Horner final July, Skinner is the most recent senior technical member to depart. Former sporting director Jonathan Wheatley can be now heading up Audi’s F1 group and chief strategist Will Courtenay has moved to McLaren.
Beneath present group principal Laurent Mekies, nevertheless, the new-look Purple Bull loved a resurgence over the latter half of 2025, and it additionally made a promising begin to the 2026 pre-season.
With help from Ford, Purple Bull’s RB22 options the squad’s first-ever in-house energy unit, which has defied expectations up to now – drawing reward for its environment friendly electrical power deployment.
However whereas praising the trouble the group on the Milton Keynes campus had made, Verstappen hasn’t been a giant fan of the incoming rules but, calling the brand new vehicles “anti-racing” and “not enjoyable” to drive given the lengths drivers must go to to be able to harvest electrical power.
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