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Williams Racing has appointed long-time McLaren employee Simon Roberts as ‘Managing Director F1’.
Roberts’ role, a newly created position, will see him “take overall responsibility for the design and development process, racing, factory operations and planning,” according to Williams’ announcement.
Now 57, he joined McLaren in 2003 and rose to become Chief Operations Officer in 2017.
But for a year (2009) on secondment to Force India, Roberts had only ever worked in Formula 1 at McLaren, which he left in early-2019.
Deputy Team Principal at his new home, Claire Williams, said, “Simon will bring enormous experience and knowledge to the Williams team, and we are delighted that he is joining us when we head back to work after this long enforced F1 shutdown.
“He will lead a highly talented team that’s looking forward to designing and developing the next generation of Williams F1 cars.”
Roberts will report to Group Chief Executive Officer, Mike O’Driscoll.