RacingRed Bull has moved quickly after its rough start to 2026, reshuffling the technical group behind the RB22 by promoting Ben Waterhouse and hiring Andrea Landi as the team tries to speed up development. With Max Verstappen, Isack Hadjar and Red Bull sitting sixth in the constructors’ standings after three rounds, the team has changed the structure around technical director Pierre Waché.
In an official announcement, Red Bull said Waterhouse has been promoted with immediate effect from Head of Performance Engineering to Chief Performance and Design Engineer. The team said his new role gives him broader responsibility across the Design and Vehicle Performance departments, and that he will report directly to Waché.
Red Bull said the reorganization is an “evolution” that “strengthens integration between these areas and will accelerate the development of competitive, high-performing solutions,” in its official announcement about the changes. The team also said the moves support its long-term technical plans by developing internal talent while bringing in outside experience.
Waterhouse is a long-time Red Bull figure. Red Bull said he joined the organization in 2014 after previous experience at BMW Sauber. He first worked as Deputy Technical Director at Toro Rosso, according to the team, before moving to Red Bull in 2017 as Head of Performance Engineering.
Landi will join on 1 July as Head of Performance, Red Bull said in the same announcement, and he will report to Waterhouse. Red Bull said Landi arrives with experience from Ferrari, where he served as Deputy Head of Vehicle Performance, and from Racing Bulls, where he held the role of Deputy Technical Director.
The timing says plenty about Red Bull’s start to the new season. According to the season results cited in the reports, the team has only 16 points after the opening three rounds, which leaves it sixth in the constructors’ championship. Verstappen has scored 12 of those points, with his best result a sixth place in the Australian Grand Prix. Hadjar has added four points. Reports from the opening races said both drivers have complained about the RB22’s handling and balance.
The restructuring also lands during a wider period of change at Red Bull. The reports say Gianpiero Lambiase is expected to leave for McLaren from 2028. He is the latest senior name linked with a move away after Rob Marshall, Will Courtenay, Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley, according to the reports.
Red Bull has framed this latest step as a tighter link between design and performance, with Waterhouse placed over both areas and Landi brought in underneath him. For a team trying to recover from a weak opening to 2026, that is the immediate response it has chosen.