Williams F1 Team Boss Jost Capito Leaves Abruptly

Jost Capito, team principal at the Williams Formula 1 team, has left his job. Team technical director FX Demaison is also leaving the team. Both departures, announced Monday, are effective immediately, and Williams has not yet named a replacement for either.

The announcement is a major surprise. Both Capito and Demaison have only been with the team since the 2020-2021 offseason, with Capito joining in December 2020 and Demaison following in March 2021. While the team's performance was poor in both 2021 and 2022, Capito and Demaison were seemingly brought on board to lead a long-term turnaround of a program that had been struggling on track for far, far longer than just those two seasons. The team occasionally scored points in both seasons and did not seem so far off the pace that they would never be competitive, even after regressing somewhat from 2021 to 2022.

While the team did not show major progress, it's possible the experienced pairing may have been poached as a package for another job, either at another Formula 1 team or at another racing endeavor. Ferrari has a notable major leadership opening, and any team whose leaders may in turn be poached by Ferrari would also need a steady hand of Capito's caliber. Major sports car programs coming on board in 2024, like BMW's WRT-led M Hybrid V8 program or Alpine's unnamed LMDh program, could also make sense as a landing spot.

We'll have to wait and see what's in store for the pair.

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