77. Rob Marshall

Red Bull Racing’s Chief Engineering Officer, Rob Marshall, developed a passion for machinery early in life, primarily prompted by his father’s work and interests.

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“My father was also an engineer,” says Rob. “He had a lathe, so we always built bits and pieces. For example, on my 16th birthday, I got given a 1930 AJS motorcycle with two tea chests full of parts, and I had to figure all that out.”

Rob’s boyhood fascination took him to Cardiff University, where he naturally studied mechanical engineering and eventually to a career in aerospace, working for Rolls Royce.

However, by the late 1990s, Marshall was ready to move on and pursue a career in motorsport. He eventually secured a role at a Benetton F1 team in transition following its Michael Schumacher-led heyday.

Through a period in which the Team was taken over by Renault (2000-2002), Rob worked his way through the ranks to eventually become Head of Mechanical Design in 2005. Rob’s work, particularly developing his ingenious mass damper system, helped the Team to its first Driver’s and Constructors’ Championship titles.

Despite the success, Rob was keen to take on a new challenge, and it quickly materialised in the shape of Red Bull Racing, where he took on the role of Chief Designer.

The result was an even greater wave of success, with the Team winning eight world titles between 2010 and 2013. The introduction of hybrid engines to F1 led to a leaner spell. Still, with Rob at the helm of the Team’s engineering department, the podiums and victories have continued to flow, and ahead of the 2020 season, Rob had played a key role in adding 66 more trophies to the Team’s cabinet since 2014.

Rob has been driven by a simple goal – a relentless pursuit of performance and perfection. It’s a task that he’s even keener to get to grips with as the Team continues its evolution with power unit partner Honda and is ahead of significant regulatory change in 2023.

“F1 is a constantly moving target,” he says emphatically. “Nothing is ever good enough. There is no ceiling to what you can do. There is always a way of making the car better.”