Lando Norris and Max Verstappen will once again fight for the F1 title in 2025 (Image: Getty)
have reportedly decided against letting Will Courtenay make an early move to future employer , keeping their chief strategist on the pit wall for the upcoming 2025 campaign.
In September, confirmed that they had reached an agreement to sign Courtenay as their new sporting director, although with the Brit’s contract with running until midway through 2026, the new recruit was unable to make an instant transition.
According to , Courtenay will not be allowed to leave his post early and join the Woking-based squad, despite ’s desire to ‘cut some form of deal’ to bring him on board in 2025. He will, therefore, retain his position on the pit wall for the upcoming season.
This will come as a major blow to and , who are hoping to challenge and on both the Drivers’ Championship and Constructors’ Championship fronts this season.
Speaking about Courtenay’s decision to leave after the announcement was made in September, team principal said: “He has been here for 20 years. We talked about other roles within the group.
“He was offered a bigger role on a very high salary from , and at that point you have got to say: ‘Good luck. Go for it.’ But at the same time, it gives an opportunity for Hannah Schmitz to move up, which, if she hadn’t had that opportunity, she’d have been a prime target for somebody.”
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Will Courtenay will join McLaren as sporting director in 2026 (Image: Getty)
While Courtenay is not leaving Milton Keynes in the short-term, did agree to allow former sporting director Jonathan Wheatley to depart early and take up the role of team principal at Sauber.
The Hinwil-based squad narrowly avoided a pointless season in 2024, finishing bottom of the Constructors’ Championship standings. With Audi taking over the team in 2026, Wheatley has a major rebuild job on his hands during his first campaign in the role.
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News of Wheatley’s arrival followed the departure of Alessandro Alunni Bravi, who acted as Sauber’s ‘team representative’ in 2024 in the absence of a dedicated team principal. “It is an emotional time as my journey with Sauber reaches its end,” he said on Wednesday.
“Since I joined in 2017, I have seen this team grow and change beyond what anyone could have imagined. This organisation went through exciting and difficult times alike, all without ever losing its spirit and its commitment, which is something I find inspiring, and I was proud of being able to represent the team as its public face in the last two years.”