Williams F1 team poach key Lewis Hamilton championship ally

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F1 team poach key Hamilton championship ally

He is amongst 26 new hires for the team

Rhys Thomas

Friday 28 June 2024 10:57 Updated: 19:02

Williams have unveiled a plethora of new technical hires, including one key to several of Lewis Hamilton's championship-winning cars, as the team aim to return to the front of F1.

26 new faces, who Williams will take on throughout the year, join from the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull, as well as ten from Alpine.

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The aerodynamics team is bolstered by 11 appointments, and the design office with 13.

These employees may be new to Williams, but between them they boast 12 Constructors’ World Championships and 13 Drivers’ World Championships. Several of the key hires are outlined below.

James Vowels has signed a host of new personnel to his team

Williams' key new hires bolster ambitions

Headlining the carousel of fresh talent is Matt Harman, who will join the British team as Design Director following the summer shutdown.

He was latterly at Technical Director at Alpine, but previously worked on a quintet of double title-winning cars at Mercedes, and on the powertrains which drove Hamilton's first title at McLaren and Jenson Button's championship in 2009.

From July 1, the new Chief Engineer, Computing Science will be Fabrice Moncade, formerly Head of Performance Analytics at Ferrari and also a member of the team during two of Mercedes' title-winning years.

Juan Molina will become Williams' Chief Aerodynamicist and starts on July 15. Previously Principal Aerodynamicist at Haas, he achieved three championship doubles during his time at Red Bull.

Steve Winstanley is appointed Chief Engineer, Composites and Structures 'to lead and transform the structures department within the design office' after 14 years at Red Bull, including six double-Championship-winning campaigns.

Williams have made no secret of their desire to land Carlos Sainz

Richard Frith possesses a quarter-century of F1 experience and will also join Williams in 2025 as Head of Performance Systems.

Sorin Cheran will become the team's new Chief Information and Analytics Officer, and Williams say he brings 'unrivalled expertise in Artificial Intelligence and Data and has worked on projects to maximise simulation capabilities with F1 teams'.

James Vowles, also heavily involved in Mercedes' era of dominance and now Williams team principal, said: “I am delighted to welcome these six incredible people to Williams.

“We are on a mission to fight our way back to the front and being able to attract experienced, Championship-winning talent from other teams demonstrates huge belief in the journey we are on.

“Williams is investing in what it takes to win, and this is just the start as we prepare to welcome more new faces from across the grid in the months ahead.”

Vowles recently tied lead driver Alex Albon down to a new contract and is attempting to tempt Carlos Sainz to Grove.