Ex-Honda consultant Gilles Simon joins FIA technical team

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Former Honda Formula 1 engine consultant Gilles Simon has joined the FIA as Head of Technical.

Simon's appointment is one of a number of changes the FIA has made to its technical division. A new department responsible for all the governing body's single-seater championships is being created.

Simon was previously the FIA's technical and powertrain director in 2010. He had earlier been employed at Renault, Peugeot and Ferrari. More recently Simon has been working for Honda, from 2015 up to the start of the 2017 season.

His involvement initially helped steady the ship and smooth relations with McLaren. However when the new 2017 power unit failed to live up to expectations, Simon decided to leave the Japanese manufacturer.

In his new position, Simon will evaluate new technical solutions with the aim of developing the Federation's line-up of championships.

"Reporting to the Secretary General for Sport, Gilles Simon will be acting as FIA Technical Director," the governing body said in a statement.

"As such, he will contribute to the development of the FIA championships, proposing ambitious and pragmatic technical solutions in line with the FIA's strategic and sporting vision for its championships.

Engine guru Gilles Simon leaves Honda

"To that end, he will work in close cooperation with the FIA departments responsible for the global management of the championships, as well as with the safety department."

The FIA is creating a new department focussed on single-seater competition comprising F1, F2, F3 and F4. The head of the department will be Charlie Whiting, better known as the race director at Formula 1 events.

Whiting's brief is to "strengthen the links between the grassroots levels and the top of the pyramid," said the governing body.

Whiting has also been instructed to "optimise the processes and the synergies of these championships; and benefit from the increased integration of the F1 Department within the FIA."

The new structure will see the redistribution of responsibilities for sporting and technical matters. Sporting and championship management will be in the hands of Laurent Mekies, while Marcin Budkowski will be in charge of technical side.

The former head of the Single-Seater Commission, Frederic Bertrand, will be taking responsibility for Formula E, WEC, and WTCC.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.