Red Bull’s long-serving senior engine technician Calum Nicholas has announced that he is stepping away from the race crew.

And that is because the Brit – who had been working on Max Verstappen’s car in his role and also forms a key part of the Red Bull pit-stop crew – has taken on a new position as an ambassador for Red Bull Racing.

Calum Nicholas steps back from garage to become Red Bull ‘ambassador’

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher and Sam Cooper

A part of the team since 2015, Nicholas in recent years has become an increasingly well-recognised F1 figure, his book ‘Life in the Pitlane’ to be released on February 27.

And on the eve of that release, Nicholas has taken to social media to announce a major change to his Red Bull association, as he becomes an ambassador for the team.

Nicholas wrote: “The time has come to hang up my race suit…

15 years of racing as a mechanic, 13 Formula One seasons, 233 Grands Prix, 4 World Drivers’ Championships, 2 World Constructors’ Championships & 7 consecutive pitstop awards… it’s a career that I’m incredibly proud to look back on.

“To all of those who’ve been a part of this amazing journey, thank you!

“For the last decade of my life I’ve been very fortunate to work with an incredible group of people, in a team like no other.

“So, today, I’m very pleased to announce that I’ll be taking on an exciting new role, as a Red Bull Racing ambassador!”

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As Nicholas makes reference to, he has been a key figure in Verstappen’s four straight Drivers’ title wins, plus Red Bull’s 2022 and 2023 Constructors’ triumphs, as Verstappen now goes into F1 2025 chasing a fifth straight crown without Nicholas as part of his race team.

There is a lot of intrigue surrounding the RB21 as Red Bull look to restamp their F1 authority after an at times challenging F1 2024, the team slipping to P3 in the Constructors’ Championship, after a season which included a run of 10 races without victory.

Verstappen’s feedback at a bruising Italian Grand Prix was credited as a key spark for the team beginning to turn the tide from there, and at the F1 75 season launch in London – where all 10 F1 2025 liveries including that of the RB21 were revealed – Verstappen was asked whether he thinks the RB21 can be a solid platform to address the weaknesses of its predecessor.

“I mean, that’s what we are working on,” he replied, “and that’s what we’ll continue to try and improve.

“I think we do understand, of course, where the issues were coming from. But now, yeah, it’s about trying to just add a better balance to the car. Change maybe a few approaches.

“But I guess only time will tell, of course, how much we have found. I find it really difficult to say at the moment, but yeah, hopefully just heading in the right direction.”

Asked if the RB21 feels better than the RB20 in the simulator, Verstappen replied: “I haven’t really driven a lot on the sim, to be honest.

“And I prefer to wait, you know, until I’ve driven the real thing.”

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