Paul Gerard Monaghan is a British Formula 1 engineer and the Chief Engineer, Car Engineering at Oracle Red Bull Racing, a senior trackside role he has held since the team's earliest days. He is responsible for extracting maximum performance from the cars across a Grand Prix weekend and turning racing concepts into real-world gains. ¹²

He was born 18 October 1967 and earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Hertfordshire. Nicknamed "Pedals" since his early career — a reference to the pedal modifications he designed for the tall Gerhard Berger — he is known internally for a disarming, self-deprecating manner. ¹³

“" Colleagues describe him as someone who prefers to stay in the background despite his seniority.”

McLaren beginnings

Monaghan began his motorsport career at McLaren in 1990, starting in research and development and the special-projects division before becoming a data engineer, working in an era that included drivers such as Ayrton Senna, Gerhard Berger and David Coulthard — and alongside designer Adrian Newey, with whom he would later reunite at Red Bull. ¹³

Benetton, Renault and Alonso's first win

In 2000 he moved to the Benetton squad as it transitioned into the Renault F1 Team, first as a performance engineer and then as race engineer to Jenson Button. He went on to engineer a young Fernando Alonso, guiding the Spaniard to his maiden F1 victory at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix. ¹

Jordan and the move to Red Bull

After a brief spell at Jordan in 2005, Monaghan joined Red Bull Racing late that year as Head of Race and Test Engineering, a role that evolved into Chief Engineer, Car Engineering. He has been a constant presence through every phase of the team's history since its 2005 inception, contributing to its multiple Drivers' and Constructors' Championships across the Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen eras and remaining one of the last senior figures from the Christian Horner period. ¹⁴

Reputation and public role

Monaghan is one of Red Bull's media-facing technical voices, regularly appearing at FIA team-principal-and-technical press conferences and giving candid assessments of the team's competitiveness. He is, by his own account, modest about it: "Nine other teams have figured out that I'm absolutely useless," he once joked, adding that working in "a proper world championship sport" was simply "a nice environment to be in." Colleagues describe him as someone who prefers to stay in the background despite his seniority. ³

A possible departure

In late June 2026, multiple outlets reported that Monaghan was preparing to leave Red Bull, with Cadillac — the incoming American team — cited as his likely destination in a senior engineering role. Reports described the move as "effectively finalised" though not formally confirmed, with any switch subject to gardening leave that could delay his start until 2027. Team principal Laurent Mekies, with Monaghan present at the Austrian GP, said "there is nothing more important to us than making sure we are in a position to keep our talents," without ruling out a departure. ⁵⁶⁷

Bottom line

Monaghan is one of Red Bull's longest-serving senior engineers, a steady, self-effacing trackside hand whose career stretches from Senna-era McLaren to four-time champion Verstappen. Whether he stays or follows the wider post-Horner exodus to a rival, his two-decade tenure makes him one of the institutional pillars of Red Bull's competitive era. ¹⁶