Former Red Bull chief operating officer Jayne Poole has been hired by Mercedes as a senior advisor to the Brackley squad.
Poole, a well-known figure in the paddock who was also Red Bull Racing's former director of Human Resources, was seen in company of Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff in Bahrain, which prompted the German outfit to confirm her hiring as a special advisor to help the team improve its internal organization.
The implementation of Formula 1's cost cap which was introduced in 2021, coupled with the departure from Mercedes of senior member and chief strategist James Vowles, and Wolff's desire to have a proper succession plan in place have encouraged Mercedes to tap into Poole's expertise to help the team navigate its future.
In the past, Wolff has often talked about succession within the Mercedes Formula 1 organisation, and about the need for the outfit to remain dynamic to keep it moving forward, but also to remain strong and capable of enduring a brain drain.
"As an organisation, you have to always be prepared that you could lose members," Wolff said last month.
"We've had it many times where people stepped up and they leave an open position behind them or they join another team, and for me, it's only proof that we are developing and working with capable people.
"We have 90 [people], some of whom are very senior, but are not always on the front line and some that have grown within the organisation and they have now flown the aeroplane alone in the last six months - and before that with James's [Vowles] supervision.
"I feel very comfortable with the infrastructure going forward, and not that a big weakness has suddenly been created."
Jerome D'Ambrosio and Toto Wolff
Mercedes has not formerly replaced Vowles at the head of its strategy department, but Wolff has ensured that there will be no gap on the team's pitwall on race weekends.
Interestingly, former F1 driver and Venturi Formula E team boss Jerome D'Ambrosio was a guest of the team during pre-season testing, spending time in Mercedes' garage alongside Wolff.
The latter justified the Belgian's presence as "a friend" whom Mercedes may be working with in the future, although Wolff did not elaborate on the responsibilities that could be entrusted to the former driver.
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