Red Bull Comfort Sparks Marshall’s Move to McLaren F1

Rob Marshall embraced a new challenge with McLaren F1, leaving behind the comfortable yet predictable environment he experienced at Red Bull.

Rob Marshall, McLaren F1’s engineering director, left Red Bull in 2023 to join Woking. He views this decision positively, as he felt life was becoming too easy at Milton Keynes, lacking the challenges needed to push him out of his comfort zone.

“From a personal standpoint, McLaren approached me at the right moment,” Marshall said. “I had reached a point where I thought, ‘If I don’t change teams now, I’ll probably be here forever.'”

“I was happy to stay forever. I really enjoyed my time at Red Bull; it was a great place to work. But you reach a stage where you feel stuck, in denial.”

“I think things were becoming a bit too easy, a bit too comfortable. You knew everyone, you had to do everything. It was a bit too smooth. And I thought, ‘Five, six, seven more years, then I’ll retire.'”

But Marshall reconsidered when McLaren made an offer: “Then the phone rings: ‘Do you want to leave?’ And you’re about to say, ‘No.’ But for some reason, you can’t. Because at that moment, you realize, ‘I’ve been fooling myself; I think it’s time to go.'”

“And at that moment, you go. If there’s the slightest doubt, you go. I don’t think you can go back once you’ve thought it through long and hard. If you’ve seriously considered leaving, then you leave.”

“Now, I’m absolutely happy to have left, and I’m really pleased to have parted ways with Red Bull in the right way. You’d like to think no one should be indispensable, and they’ve clearly managed just fine without me, which is great for them. You don’t want to leave anyone in trouble.”

“I think I had a very good career there, and I really enjoyed it. Now, I’m truly enjoying myself at McLaren. I think I’m having as much fun here in my first year as I did during my early years at Red Bull, which were the most exciting times.”