Williams snap up Mercedes F1 veteran in championship signing

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Williams snap up Mercedes F1 veteran in championship signing

Williams have signed Dan Milner

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 10 April 2026 11:55

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Williams have signed an F1 championship-winning engineer from Mercedes.

The Grove-based outfit have close ties with the dominant Mercedes team, with team principal James Vowles having worked for Mercedes previously between 2010-2022, and the team using Mercedes power units.

Williams are hoping to get closer in performance compared to the works Mercedes team in the years to come, and there was hope that they would be pushing for regular podiums in 2026 after a 2025 season in which they finished up in fifth in the constructors' championship.

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But Williams have had a dismal start to the wholesale regulation changes, picking up just two points from the first three race weekends as they struggle with an overweight car.

Now, however, with a view to the future, Williams have signed a Mercedes star who worked with the team as they claimed eight consecutive constructors' world championships between 2014-2021.

Dan Milner has held a number of senior roles with Mercedes in the last 14 years, most recently as chief engineer for R&D.

Vowles' former colleague has joined Williams as chief engineer across vehicle technology with immediate effect, with no period of gardening leave seemingly required.

In an official statement, the Brit said: "I’m thrilled to be joining Atlassian Williams F1 Team as chief engineer across vehicle technology. After 20 years of association with Brackley, it’s the right moment to take on a new challenge.

"Williams has a clear, ambitious plan to move forward, and I’m looking forward to bringing my experience and knowledge to help accelerate that journey. I can’t wait to meet the team, learn the organisation, and get to work converting ideas into performance on track."

'Broad experience and clear leadership'

Williams are desperately hoping that they can make improvements as the 2026 season progresses, with the first priority being to get the weight of the car down.

The FW48 is understood to be more than 20kg over the minimum weight limit, slowing the car down for the talented driver duo of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.

But Williams have a long-term plan to try and get themselves back to the top of the sport, and technical director Matt Harman believes Milner can help them do just that.

"Dan brings broad experience and clear leadership," Harman said. "He has led major programmes across R&D and powertrains, turning ideas into performance, and he knows how to bring teams together to deliver.

"Dan will be central to our vehicle technology plan and to converting innovation into consistent performance gains on track, so we’re thrilled to have him on board as we continue our plans of bringing Atlassian Williams F1 Team back to the front of the grid."

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