Williams appoints new chief engineer

Doug McKiernan has joined the team Williams as chief engineer, reporting directly to technical director Paddy Lowe.

McKiernan, who returns to the world of Grands Prix on this occasion, began his career in Formula 1 in McLaren in 1999 as an aerodynamic analyst. He will remain at Woking until 2015, successively occupying the positions of chief aerodynamicist, head of the aerodynamics department, and finally chief engineer.

« I am delighted to join Williams, declared the new arrival. The team has very ambitious plans. It's great to see the work that has already been done in terms of aerodynamics and engineering on the FW41, while looking forward to the future and the future cars that will fuel Williams' rise to the top of the grid . The team has a very competent engineering department and I hope to be able to make my contribution by supporting the development of the FW41 and future cars."

Paddy Lowe added: “ After working with Doug between 2007 and 2012, I am convinced that his talent and experience will strengthen our team and we are very happy to welcome him. Since my return to Williams last year, it has become clear to me that the team's return to form requires greater engineering resources. We have already made excellent progress in this area, thanks in particular to the work of our Aero Manager Dirk de Beer and his team. The arrival of Doug, in support of Dirk and our chief designer Ed Wood in particular, will give us more latitude to concentrate on the technical strategy and the optimization of the architecture of the car in terms of design and aerodynamics. . »

Unveiled on February 15, the FW41 will be driven this season Lance stroll and Sergey Sirotkin.