F1 News: Williams Team announces slew of new technical hires
Massive recruitment announcement from Williams. They have brought in 26 technical hires from rival F1 teams, including ex-Alpine Technical Director Matt Harman as Design Director.
Press Release
Williams Racing is pleased to announce the recruitment of five highly-experienced Formula 1 technical leaders and an outstanding new Chief Information and Analytics Officer as the team continues to strengthen and transform in pursuit of success.
The exceptional new technical hires have worked on cars and powertrains that have secured 12 Constructors’ World Championships and 13 Drivers’ World Championships, and have more than 102 years of combined experience in the sport. Our new Chief Information and Analytics Officer (CIAO) brings unrivalled expertise in Artificial Intelligence and Data and has worked on projects to maximize simulation capabilities with F1 teams.
They add to the Championship-winning pedigree of Team Principal James Vowles and Chief Technical Officer Pat Fry, and are a further demonstration of the long-term investment being made on and off track by owners Dorilton Capital in pursuit of our mission to evolve and win further world titles.
Matt Harman will join Williams as Design Director, starting after the summer shutdown. Most recently Technical Director at Alpine, Matt has also worked at Renault, Mercedes and Mercedes’ powertrains division over a 24-year career in F1. He worked on five Constructors’ and Drivers’ title-winning cars at Mercedes, in addition to the powertrains that took Lewis Hamilton to his first Drivers’ title with McLaren and Jenson Button’s Championship-winning Brawn.
Related Article: F1: Alpine promotes Fry and Harman
Fabrice Moncade joins the team as Chief Engineer, Computing Science on July 1. Formerly Head of Performance Analytics at Ferrari, he has pioneered modern-day lap simulation in F1 and worked on two title-winning cars while at Mercedes. He has also worked at McLaren, Sauber and BMW Sauber during his 17 years in the sport.
Juan Molina arrives as Chief Aerodynamicist and starts on July 15. Previously Principal Aerodynamicist at Haas, he won three championship doubles during a spell with Red Bull and will report to Adam Kenyon who was promoted to Head of Aerodynamics in April.
Steve Winstanley is appointed Chief Engineer, Composites and Structures to lead and transform the structures department within the design office. He brings 22 years of F1 experience including 14 at Red Bull, where he was involved in six double-Championship-winning campaigns.
Richard Frith will also join Williams in 2025 as Head of Performance Systems. Formerly Head of Performance at Alpine, Richard has 25 years of experience in the sport including spells with Jordan, Force India, Sauber, Marussia and McLaren.
All five will form part of the technical team being led by Pat Fry, who joined Williams in November.
They are among 26 new recruits from other F1 teams who will join Williams over the course of the year, including several from Mercedes and Ferrari, four from Red Bull and 10 from Alpine. There has been a particular focus on strengthening the aerodynamics team, with 11 hires, and the design office with 13.
And they will be joined by Sorin Cheran, who arrives at Williams as CIAO after a 17-year career with Hewlett Packard Enterprise. He specializes in Artificial Intelligence and innovation and will lead a transformation of how the team acquires, stores, indexes and uses data to build a best-in-class technology operation.
Their recruitment follows the recent announcement that Alex Albon has committed his future to Williams with a multi-year contract extension, and as the team prepares to enter the new F1 regulations era in 2026 with a long-term Mercedes power unit supply in place.
James Vowles, Williams Racing Team Principal: “I am delighted to welcome these six incredible people to Williams. 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.”
Pat Fry, Williams Racing Chief Technical Officer: “Williams Racing has bold ambitions and huge momentum, and these exceptional recruits show this is a project people want to be part of. We are adding strength in depth to the enormous talent already at Grove as we build for the future.”