Williams was a bit of a turnaround revelation in 2014 and many fans believe Williams has turned the corner and started to head back to the top from whence they once dominated the sport. Whether or not they can beat Mercedes is another question but suffice it to say, Williams have definitely made the right moves and continue to do so with today’s announcement.
Williams is pleased to announce an updated Race Operations structure to further bolster the engineering department ahead of the 2015 FIA Formula One World Championship season.
Andrew Murdoch, previously Race Engineer to Felipe Massa, has been promoted to Senior Performance Engineer. Andrew will lead the Performance Group at the factory, developing new techniques and processes within the engineering team to ensure continual performance improvements are brought to both cars throughout the season. He will also remain part of the trackside team with a focus on Valtteri Bottas’s car on event.
The team is further strengthened by the appointment of Dave Robson, who has joined to take on the role of Race Engineer to Felipe and will work under Head of Vehicle Performance Rob Smedley. Dave joins from McLaren, where he had been working with Jenson Button since 2010, most recently as his Race Engineer. Jonathan Eddolls continues as Race Engineer to Valtteri.
As part of this process, Carl Gaden has been promoted to Senior Car Systems Engineer. Carl joined Williams in 1988 and has spent the last 22 years as Chief Mechanic on the Race Team. With his vast hands-on experience working across the cars, he will now increase the capabilities of the team within this area focusing on ensuring systems continue to be reliable.
Mark Pattinson, previously Number 1 Mechanic to Felipe, will step up to take on the role of Chief Mechanic.
Pat Symonds, Williams Chief Technical Officer, said;
“Off the back of a great 2014 campaign Williams is determined to continue this positive momentum into the new season, and these recent changes show our commitment to that goal. We are proud to be able to promote our existing talent to help strengthen every area within our engineering team and we will continue to invest in new talent where necessary to ensure we have the support and resources to achieve our on-track ambitions throughout 2015 and beyond. Our engineering team for the coming season is looking strong and I’m excited to get the new season underway.”
As we mentioned in our podcast of the 2014 season in review, Williams are making the right decisions and not just in the engine supply category. The team have hired the right people and are doing more with less and that’s coming in handy in a time when Formula 1 teams are falling into bankruptcy. It will be interesting to see what they do with their 2015 chassis and whether or not it can be competitive with Mercedes.
If you’re looking for a job in Formula 1 these days, you might focus on the STEM programs as it seems that the teams are certainly seeking the right propeller-heads to hire and Williams are no different. It’s also nice to see the promotion-from-within instead of the poaching from without model the team are employing too.
