Monaghan set to join Cadillac, but hasn’t resigned from Red Bull yet

Paul Monaghan is set to leave Red Bull to join the Cadillac Formula 1 team, with the move effectively finalised, but no formal resignation has been submitted to the Milton Keynes team, Motorsport.com can reveal.

Monaghan, chief engineer of car engineering at Red Bull, is one of the team's longest-serving and most respected members. Having joined the team in 2005, he was one of the less visible but most influential architects of the team's success during the Christian Horner era.

In recent weeks, speculation had emerged about a possible departure, with the rumours intensifying on the eve of the Austrian Grand Prix.

Those reports were effectively confirmed at Spielberg, where it became clear that Cadillac is Monaghan's next destination, ruling out speculation that had linked him to other teams in recent weeks.

However, one final procedural step remains. This weekend, Monaghan is carrying out his duties as usual in the Red Bull garage, carrying out business as usual, with Red Bull yet to be served his resignation officially.

For Red Bull, Monaghan's departure would represent yet another loss of a key figure, further evidence of the personnel exodus that began following the departures of Christian Horner and Adrian Newey.

Paul Monaghan, Chief Engineer, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, talk in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

A major restructuring of the team's technical organisation is currently under way in Milton Keynes, but losing Monaghan would be another significant setback for a team working to rebuild its internal structure and stability.

The continuing trend remains a source of concern for Max Verstappen amid focus on his future at the team.

Cadillac, meanwhile, has built much of its organisation by recruiting extensively from the UK-based F1 teams. In addition to Monaghan, the new American outfit has hired personnel from Red Bull and several other paddock operations, particularly among mechanics and trackside staff.

Replacing someone with Monaghan's experience will be no easy task. His F1 career began at McLaren in 1990, shortly after completing a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering. He started at the highest level, working as a data engineer with Ayrton Senna, Gerhard Berger and David Coulthard.

In 2000, he left McLaren to join Benetton, where he worked with a young Fernando Alonso during the Spaniard's early years in F1. After a spell at Jordan, he joined the newly formed Red Bull F1 team in 2005, going on to become one of the team's technical cornerstones and playing a key role in the success that ultimately delivered 14 F1 world championships.