Patrick Head, WilliamsF1’s technical director for the past 27 years, will today move into a new position as part of a staff shake-up at the Grove-based team.
Patrick Head, WilliamsF1’s technical director for the past 27 years, will today move into a new position as part of a staff shake-up at the Grove-based team.
The radical-looking FW26 has proved a disappointed thus far this season and, according to , is ostensibly the reason for the technical re-organisation. The announcement of the shake-up is expected to take place today as the team opens a new wind tunnel at their headquarters in Oxfordshire.
Head’s successor will probably be the team’s chief operations engineer, Sam Michael, an Australian. Head could take-on the new, more managerial, role of “director of engineering”.
Head, a thirty per cent shareholder in the team run by Sir Frank Williams, said at Monaco: “I don’t think any role that I take will be lesser but we are looking at internal re-organisation. That will mean a slight change of duties but I suspect that I shall be working just as hard, if not harder, but doing slightly different activities.”
However, Head has denied that pressure from engine partner BMW – which has reportedly been unhappy with the level of aerodynamic development of the FW26 – has had any bearing on the reshuffle.
“The change of positions is the result of decisions made by me six weeks ago in response to the start of the season,” said Head. “It was clear that we intended to be fully competitive this year and it is very clear that we are not. We think we need to do a bit of restructuring and redistribute some responsibilities.”