F1 2023: McLaren technical director James Key sacked after nightmare season start, corporate restructuring, restructuring, championship status, Zak Brown, Andrea Stella

Led by Key, McLaren’s technical department is struggling to adapt to life under the new regulations introduced last year.

After slipping from fourth to fifth in the 2022 Constructors’ Championship, the team admitted during pre-season that it had fallen short of key goals in developing this year’s car.

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McLaren are bottom of the title standings after failing to score points in the first two rounds of the season. Both drivers retired with technical problems in the first race in Bahrain, and in the race in Saudi Arabia, the cars were slow despite both drivers suffering damage on the first lap.

The team has pegged its hopes for 2023 on a major upgrade due in April, but recently team principal Andrea Stella made a move to soften hopes that it will bring a big step forward in performance.

“It has been clear for some time that our technical development is not progressing fast enough to match our ambition to return to the front of the grid,” said CEO Zak Brown in a statement.

“We are pleased to have completed a full review with Andrea so that we can carry out the necessary rebuilds to put the wheels in motion to turn this around.”

Key’s technical director role is split under Stella into three positions, each responsible for a distinct part of the car’s development.

David Sanchez, who left his job as Ferrari’s chief vehicle concept engineer earlier this year, has been confirmed as a new hire after ten years at Maranello. The Frenchman will start next January as technical director of automotive concepts.

Peter Prodromou has been promoted to Technical Director of Aerodynamics. Prodromou joined McLaren in 2014, from 2010 to 2013 he was a protégé for Adrian He Newey, who won the title with Red Bull Racing.

Neil Houldey is promoted to Technical Director of Engineering and Design after more than 18 years with the team.

Aerodynamicist Giuseppe Pesche will serve as Director of Aerodynamics and Chief of Staff under Prodromou, while Pierce Ting will support Stella “in its mission to innovate and raise standards” for the racing team. The team’s new Chief Operating Officer.

“It is important now to secure a solid foundation for the next phase of our journey,” Brown said.

“These strategic changes are necessary to ensure the long-term success of the team and to get McLaren back on a winning path.

“We now have all the personnel and infrastructure in place and are confident that McLaren will be back where it belongs, with an exciting driver line-up.”

A significant technical director role split and broader restructuring will take place as the team prepares to bring a new wind tunnel and simulator, as well as a new manufacturing facility, online later this year.

McLaren has used Toyota’s wind tunnel in Cologne, which is logistically difficult and expensive. The German facility is also starting to show its age at a time when several F1 teams are upgrading their own wind tunnels or building new ones.

The current McLaren simulator was first used in F1 and was built almost 20 years ago, so it’s seriously outdated.

Both infrastructure upgrades will help design machines for next year, but they will be at full capacity for the 2025 campaign.

“This new structure will provide clarity and effectiveness within the technical department of the team and put me in a strong position to maximize performance, including optimizing our new infrastructure upgrades scheduled for 2023. put us on,” said team principal Stella.

“Since assuming the role of team principal, I have been tasked with taking a strategic approach to ensuring that the team is on a long-term foundation.

“Looking to the future, I am completely focused on getting McLaren back to the front of the field.”

The ousted Key first worked with the Jordan team in the late 1990s and worked his way up to the position of Technical Director as the Silverstone team transitioned to Force India.

After a brief stint as technical chief at Sauber, he moved to Toro Rosso in the same role in 2012 and to McLaren in 2019.

“We would like to thank James for his hard work and commitment during his time at McLaren and wish him the best of luck in his future,” Stella said.

first published as McLaren sack technical director James Key after nightmare season begins