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Red Bull’s chief mechanic has reportedly left the Milton Keynes outfit.
Germany’s Bild newspaper reports that Kenny Handkammer has left the team, with Dr Helmut Marko confirming Handkammer is not at Suzuka this weekend for the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.
“We have found someone else for this position better suited in the course of the restructuring of the team,” Marko stated.
Handkammer’s departure comes after the earlier announcement that Sebastian Vettel’s race engineer, Guillaume ‘Rocky’ Rocquelin, will move to the role of Head of Race Engineering in 2015 to oversee the team’s race engineers on both sides of the garage. Rocky’s replacement will be Gianpiero Lambiase from Force India.
The recent Red Bull staff movements, and reports that former Torro Rosso race engineer Riccardo Adami is preparing to join Ferrari in 2015, has added to speculation that the quadruple Wold Champion is set for a move to the Scuderia.
Vettel is continuing to deny he is a likely replacement for Fernando Alonso should the Spaniard take up the reportedly generous McLaren offer for next year.
“I’ve already said on numerous occasions that I’ve got a contract with Red Bull for next year and I’m working on the principle that I will still be driving for them,” Vettel told the German sporting media last week.
After finishing in second place at Singapore two weeks ago, his best performance this year, the 27-year-old is confident going into this weekend’s race.
“This circuit suits me, suits our car so I think we should be a little bit closer this weekend again.”
The German has won four of the last five races at Suzuka; while Mercedes pair and Championship front-runners, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, have never tasted victory at the Japanese circuit.
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