Tom McCullough is expected to leave Aston Martin at the end of the season, ending more than ten years spent with the team, which he has known under the names Force India, Racing Point, and then Aston Martin.
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A historic figure of the team, McCullough (50 years old) held the position of performance director until early 2025.
As part of the reorganization led by Adrian Newey, he was then transferred to the Aston Martin Performance Technologies division, responsible for developing the manufacturer’s activities in other motorsport disciplines. His former track responsibilities were taken over by Mike Krack, appointed Chief Trackside Officer (photo above).
A valuable experience
His departure would come as Aston Martin is going through a particularly difficult 2026 season. Despite significant investments, the team currently occupies tenth place in the constructors’ championship and struggles to regain competitiveness.
McCullough began his Formula 1 career at Williams in 2002 as a data engineer, before becoming a race engineer for drivers such as Nico Hülkenberg, Rubens Barrichello, and Bruno Senna. After a brief stint at Sauber as head of track engineering, he joined Force India in 2013 to lead technical operations on the circuits.
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Under his leadership, the team experienced some of its best seasons, notably two consecutive fourth places in the constructors’ championship in 2016 and 2017. Renamed Racing Point, it then won its first Formula 1 victory in 2020 while finishing fourth in the championship once again.
Lambiase’s successor?
This potential departure comes at a pivotal moment for Aston Martin. The British team is undergoing a deep technical restructuring under Newey’s leadership, who holds the roles of Team Principal and Managing Technical Partner.
Furthermore, the arrival of Jonathan Wheatley, former executive at Audi and Red Bull, is still awaited, although no official date has been announced yet. What is rumored about McCullough’s future, however, is that he would be heading to Milton Keynes to succeed GianPiero Lambiase as Red Bull Racing’s head of track engineering.
At Aston Martin, following Andrew Green (the historic technical director of Jordan, then Force India/Racing Point), Dan Fallows, and soon Andy Cowell, McCullough’s departure would mark another step in the transformation of the Silverstone team, which is seeking to rebuild its organization to return to the front ranks in the coming seasons.
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