Mercedes announce F1 chief exit ahead of 2026 championship

A key figure will leave the Mercedes F1 team

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 20 January 2026 11:59

Mercedes F1 team have announced their director of car design, John Owen, will leave the team after nearly two decades with the Brackley squad.

Owen has worked for the team under their various guises since 2007, including their time as Honda Racing, Brawn GP and, as we know them today, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team.

The 52-year-old has helped the team win nine constructors' titles (one with Brawn and eight with Mercedes) and will present his last car, the W17, for the 2026 F1 season, the 17th car he has designed for the team.

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Owen will be replaced internally by current engineering director Giacomo Tortora, who will become the team's new director of car design, with deputy technical director Simone Resta overseeing this group.

Throughout the 2026 season, Owen will help with the transition of his successor before undergoing a period of gardening leave.

Who is Mercedes chief John Owen?

Starting his career at Reynard, Owen became a senior aerodynamicist at Sauber before moving to Honda and eventually assuming the role of Brawn's principal aerodynamicist during their title-winning year in 2009.

When the team was purchased by Mercedes, however, Owen was appointed chief designer, integral to their dominant operations and championship winning years with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg during the hybrid era.

Following the news of his exit, Mercedes said: "We wish John all the very best for the future and thank him for the considerable role he has played in the team's success."

There is no information as to what the next step of his career will be, only that he has decided, 'now is the right time to take a break from F1 and that he will be leaving the team later this year.'

Mercedes