Schmitz was praised by Red Bull F1 advisor Helmut Marko as the right replacement following the announcement that the team's current strategy chief, Will Courtenay, had accepted an offer to move to McLaren.

Formula One defending champion Max Verstappen downplayed Red Bull's chances at Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix, saying the car is slower than their rivals and still working through some issues.

Although Max Verstappen enters this year as the defending Champion, the consensus is that he could struggle to claim a fifth world title. Red Bull’s development last season was poor by the Austrian team’s usual standards,