Williams adds key engineering staff

Williams has given details of the changes to its engineering management, and has rather handily given a job description for the key players, who will work under chief technical officer Pat Symonds.

As previously noted here on November 29, former McLaren and Force India man Jakob Andreasen has joined as Head of Engineering Operations. The team says his job is to “focus will be on better integrating trackside operations with the continued design and development of the Williams-Mercedes FW36 at the factory.”

Meanwhile Craig Wilson has returned to Williams from a spell at Mercedes to take up the job oof Head of Vehicle Dynamics, in order to “strengthen the engineering team in applying vehicle modelling and analysis to help bring further improvements to on-track performance.”

Lotus man Rod Nelson has joined as Chief Test & Support Engineer “to head up the team’s testing programme including leading the group at the factory that provide support and analysis from Grove over all race events.”

Finally Max Nightingale is promoted to Head of Vehicle Science “to ensure a focus on performance within the new structure which will improve the connection between race operations and on-going development work.”

Pat Symonds said: “Williams is determined to make strong improvements in our competitiveness over the coming seasons and these new appointments continue our aggressive approach in recruiting some of the sport’s best talent.

“We are also committed to allowing our existing talent to grow and showcase their skills in senior leadership roles. Our engineering team for the coming season is looking strong and I’m excited about what we can achieve moving forwards.”