Audi's recruitment Formula 1 drive is ramping up with the signing of Max Verstappen's number one mechanic to a role for 2026.
Ahead of Audi's official F1 entry next year, it has been pushing to expand its operations and bring on board the personnel it thinks it needs to make an impact - now including lead Red Bull mechanic Matt Caller.
It emerged recently that Audi had lured two senior Ferrari engine chiefs: its 2026 power unit project leader Wolf Zimmermann and its lead engineer of performance development of its ICE Lars Schmidt.
The pair worked closely with Audi's chief operating officer Mattia Binotto during his tenure at Ferrari and they will renew a working relationship when their current contracts end.
The Race has now learned that there are other areas of Audi's operations where it is expanding and attracting new recruits, and this includes on the roster of its race team personnel.
Sources have revealed that on this front its latest signing is Verstappen's long-serving number one mechanic Caller.
The Briton originally joined Red Bull in 2015 as number two mechanic and moved up to the number one role in August 2022 – having played a key role in multiple title successes for Verstappen.
Caller worked closely in his time at Red Bull with current Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley, who is pulling together the staff and infrastructure he thinks the squad needs to hit the ground running next year.
Speaking at the recent Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Wheatley said he was delighted with the way the current Sauber squad had come on since his arrival in April – but he suggested there were bigger changes being planned for this winter.
"The whole project is gaining in momentum," he said. "I'm working on organisational structures.
"We're looking at the right time to implement those for next year, when we will do some, I think, significant, but not ruthless, changes to our structure."
While there has been no official confirmation from either Red Bull or Audi about the situation, it is understood that Caller will remain in his current job until the end of this season before changing squads.
He is then expected to be slotted into a more senior role at Audi as its chief mechanic, with another former Red Bull employee Lee Stevenson, who currently has that position, set for promotion.
Stevenson, someone else who worked closely with Wheatley at Red Bull, moved to Sauber at the start of last year having spent 18 years at Red Bull.
He had originally joined the team in 2006 as number two mechanic, moving up through the ranks to become chief mechanic from 2023 until his departure in March 2024.
