Harman headlines Williams' group of new leading technical hires

Williams has announced the recruitment of five highly experienced F1 technical leaders, including former Alpine technical director Matt Harman, and a new Chief Information and Analytics Officer as part of the team's ongoing transformation and pursuit of success.

Williams says the new technical hires will bring a wealth of experience, having contributed to cars and powertrains that have secured 12 Constructors’ World Championships and 13 Drivers’ World Championships in Formula 1.

Collectively, the group boasts over 102 years of experience in the sport and will form the foundation of the engineering department led by Chief Technical Officer Pat Fry.

Here is a rundown of everyone’s past experience and track record, according to Williams:

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.

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.

The distinguished group will be joined by Sorin Cheran, who arrives at Williams as CIAO after a 17-year career with Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

• Read also: Williams reveal vacant Head of Aerodynamics role now filled

Cheran specialises 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.

Williams says its new technical minds are among 26 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.

“I am delighted to welcome these six incredible people to Williams,” commented Vowles.

“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.”

“Williams Racing has bold ambitions and huge momentum, and these exceptional recruits show this is a project people want to be part of,” added Fry.

“We are adding strength in depth to the enormous talent already at Grove as we build for the future.”

On the driver front, Williams recently granted Alex Albon a multi-year extension to his contract, while the Grove-based outfit is expected to announce that Carlos Sainz will replace Logan Sargeant in the team’s second seat.

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