Audi Poaches Max Verstappen’s Chief Mechanic as 2026 Formula 1 Entry Nears

[Source: Autosport]

The Audi Formula 1 team continues to take shape. And the latest piece of the puzzle is a big one. According to a report by Autosport, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull chief mechanic Matt Caller will join Audi once the 2025 season concludes.

Caller has been with the Red Bull Racing team for a decade now. He joined as the number two mechanic in 2015 and was promoted to chief mechanic in 2022. In his first two years as chief mechanic, Red Bull Racing won the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship. Verstappen also won the Drivers’ Championship those two years. And while McLaren has had the upper hand in 2024 and 2025, the Red Bull Racing team is always in the hunt.

So far, this is what we know of the 2026 Audi Formula 1 team. Jonathan Wheatley will be the Team Principal. Wheatley also was at Red Bull Racing and served as their Sporting Director. Lee Stevenson is another Red Bull Racing alum that is now part of the Audi Formula 1 team. Audi also raided the Ferrari garage and landed engine chief Wolf Zimmermann and his deputy Lars Schmidt. Both worked under Mattia Binotto when he was Ferrari Team Principal. Binotto is the Head of Audi Formula 1 project.

Audi is taking their Formula 1 entry seriously and that is evident by the caliber of people they are bringing in to form the team. While the formal position that Caller will take has not yet been announced, his presence will only make the team stronger.

The 2025 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship remains up for grabs and may come down to the final race. But we can’t help but to be looking ahead a bit to the 2026 season when the Audi team finally takes their place on the grid.