Racing
© Morio
Michael Manning, the long-serving Red Bull control engineer responsible for Max Verstappen’s race-start procedure, has officially begun work at Williams as Chief Engineer – Trackside Engineering after leaving Red Bull at the end of 2024.
Manning spent nearly 15 years at Red Bull after joining the Milton Keynes team in January 2011. He rose to Senior Trackside Control Engineer, a role at the center of critical race-day operations on Verstappen’s car, including the clutch, launch sequence and start procedure.
His exit from Red Bull was already known, but his next destination only became official after a six-month gardening leave. Manning had remained with Red Bull through the end of the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix before starting his new role at Williams in July.
The move is another concrete example of Red Bull losing experienced personnel from within Verstappen’s side of the garage during a period when the team’s wider structure is under scrutiny. Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, Rob Marshall and Dan Fallows have all been named among the senior figures to leave, while performance engineer Tom Hart also moved to Williams around the same time as Manning.
Announcing the switch in a LinkedIn post, Michael Manning, now Williams' Chief Engineer – Trackside Engineering, said the team’s future direction was the key factor in his decision. “There is a genuine hunger at Grove to return to the sharp end of the grid, and I am looking forward to ensuring the outstanding work at the factory translates into clinical execution at the circuit.”
That gives Williams an experienced senior trackside leader as James Vowles continues to build the Grove team’s push back toward the front. For Red Bull, it is the loss of another trusted engineer closely tied to Verstappen’s operation at a time when both its personnel base and performance direction remain under pressure.