Yahoo Autos Former Alpine technical director Harman among five Williams hires
Williams has announced a number of technical additions to its team, headlined by the former Alpine technical director Matt Harman.
Harman resigned from Alpine at the start of this season ahead of a year when the team was set to start as one of the slowest teams on the grid, leaving along with head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer. As Williams continues its recent investments through a recruitment drive Harman will join as design director after the summer shutdown, reporting to chief technical officer Pat Fry.
Other additions include Fabrice Moncade from Ferrari, Juan Molina as chief aerodynamicist from Haas and Steve Winstanley from Red Bull. All have championship-winning experience from roles in former teams, and will start work in July. Richard Frith is also set to become as head of performance systems from Alpine, but will join in 2025.
“Williams Racing has bold ambitions and huge momentum, and these exceptional recruits show this is a project people want to be part of,” Fry said. “We are adding strength in depth to the enormous talent already at Grove as we build for the future.”
Announcing the appointments, Williams also emphasizes its place within 26 new recruits from rival teams, “including several from Mercedes and Ferrari, four from Red Bull and 10 from Alpine.” 11 of those have been hired to the aerodynamics team and 13 in the design office.
Williams has also signed a new chief information and analytics officer, with Sorin Cheran joining after 17 years with Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
“I am delighted to welcome these six incredible people to Williams,” team principal James Vowles said. “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.”
