Williams Racing appoints Demaison as Technical Director

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Adds a layer of intrigue, allow me if i may to speculate,

If a series of appointments of ex employees of a certain enormous OEM (with an open evaluation of F1 allegedly ongoing) were successful in turning around Williams, then surely its a major selling oint in attracting said OEM into at least an equity partnership if not out right sale.

Something to keep an eye on for any future appointments from 'ex' VW Group employees

Where does he come from?
What was his job in last 2-3 yrs? In most articles they refer to him working with VW till '17-'18 or am I missing something?

Though the guy's stats are reliable and I believe in Capito's decisions, it feels abit worrying with another ex-VW senior coming here with all those reports of a possible VW joining F1 in 2025.It may well set pieces for a sellout.hopefully that's not the case.

Thanks for background, Mehryar. I do think there's a hydrogen v electric power discussion in the automotive world at present . . . maybe even a hybrid . . . and I don't see F1 going full electric. That would encourage manufacturers back into F1 . . . well, of necessity for proving new tech.

The current owners are a capital investment company looking for a return . . . nothing suggests to me they have any long term interest.

Quote:

Mehryar
Where does he come from?
What was his job in last 2-3 yrs? In most articles they refer to him working with VW till '17-'18 or am I missing something?

Though the guy's stats are reliable and I believe in Capito's decisions, it feels abit worrying with another ex-VW senior coming here with all those reports of a possible VW joining F1 in 2025.It may well set pieces for a sellout.hopefully that's not the case.

Agreed and the next worrying thing is that this is a wrc guy without prior experience of being an F1 TD. Yeah, the ID.R is a nice car and all but it's not an F1 car.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:03:23:12:07:14 by ihme.

Quote:

ihme
Agreed and the next worrying thing is that this is a wrc guy without prior experience of being an F1 TD. Yeah, the ID.R is a nice car and all but it's not an F1 car.

Do you always have to find something to complain about?

Yes, he doesn't have prior experience of being an F1 TD. Just like every other TD before they become TD for the first time.

He does have experience of being a successful TD at other branches of motorsport and he does have F1 experience too, so he is very much qualified to take a TD role in F1.

Given where the team is in the world of F1, so long as he can smell a rat, this can only be a positive appointment. The VW connection does seem to be obvious, and I hope they don't sell out, but survival of the team is more important.

Edd Straw from The Race has an interview with Capito where he explains why FX is a good fit, in detail:
The Race

Quote:

Anderis
Do you always have to find something to complain about?

Yes, he doesn't have prior experience of being an F1 TD. Just like every other TD before they become TD for the first time.

Ah good, our team in it's current state is the perfect place for someone like that.

Quote:

ihme

Quote:

Mehryar
Where does he come from?
What was his job in last 2-3 yrs? In most articles they refer to him working with VW till '17-'18 or am I missing something?

Though the guy's stats are reliable and I believe in Capito's decisions, it feels abit worrying with another ex-VW senior coming here with all those reports of a possible VW joining F1 in 2025.It may well set pieces for a sellout.hopefully that's not the case.

Agreed and the next worrying thing is that this is a wrc guy without prior experience of being an F1 TD. Yeah, the ID.R is a nice car and all but it's not an F1 car.

I don't see it as a worrying case.He's had a spell in F1 before and you don't need to be an ex-TD in F1 to be a successful TD! Andreas Seidl is a good example for someone who's been away from F1 for a long time and came back with an immediate positive impression on his team.

Anyway, so far so good with Capito.The guy looks like a real deal.He speaks and he does it.In a very short time, I'm starting to believe his words and plans more than what Claire used to feed us in last decade with all of those "new chapters" she planned.Hats off to her try and passion for the team but she really wasn't the person for doing it.

Quote:

Mehryar

Quote:

ihme

Quote:

Mehryar
Where does he come from?
What was his job in last 2-3 yrs? In most articles they refer to him working with VW till '17-'18 or am I missing something?

Though the guy's stats are reliable and I believe in Capito's decisions, it feels abit worrying with another ex-VW senior coming here with all those reports of a possible VW joining F1 in 2025.It may well set pieces for a sellout.hopefully that's not the case.

Agreed and the next worrying thing is that this is a wrc guy without prior experience of being an F1 TD. Yeah, the ID.R is a nice car and all but it's not an F1 car.

I don't see it as a worrying case.He's had a spell in F1 before and you don't need to be an ex-TD in F1 to be a successful TD! Andreas Seidl is a good example for someone who's been away from F1 for a long time and came back with an immediate positive impression on his team.

Anyway, so far so good with Capito.The guy looks like a real deal.He speaks and he does it.In a very short time, I'm starting to believe his words and plans more than what Claire used to feed us in last decade with all of those "new chapters" she planned.Hats off to her try and passion for the team but she really wasn't the person for doing it.

Exactly, a bit of clear decisive leadership with a clear philosophy is quiet refreshing. Hopefully it works out as planned but the quick moves to fill gaps in both infrastructure and personel are fruitful down the line

Pleased we are getting the people in with a winning mindset.
Although i do not know much at all about these new leaders coming in i am
happy we are bringing top people onboard.

Starting to get a bit excited now about next years car.

Do we need a top aero guru next?

It is a shame we will lose George next year but we cannot control that and maybe we can
pinch someone like Gasly .

Lets see if we can start building possible podium cars first then top drivers and sponsors will come knocking at our door.

iI hope the long journey back up the grid has just begun.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:03:23:15:31:54 by GPL.

I’m excited about this appointment. It’s great to see that Williams are thinking outside the box. Instead of hiring someone just because they’ve been in F1 for a long time (see where paddy lowe got us?) we’ve hired someone who is a proven designer from another category. Might take him a while to get to grips with the way F1 works but he will still theoretically have enough time this year to have a big impact on 2022’s car. I don’t read much into the theory of the team slowly becoming VW (or Lamborghini, Porsche etc) - it’s not uncommon for incoming CEO’s to surround themselves with people they have achieved success with in the past. I expect there will be more former VW acquisitions this year.

I'm getting quietly excited. Within three years I think we can see serious development is my educated guess.
Most of all because I really think VAG will consider us now that F1 management have confirmed they are moving heaven and earth to have VAG (read: Porsche) join in 2025. With Capito, a strong financial backer, FX onboard and the confirmation that the decision on the engine is pushed forward, we have a strong possibility that there are short lines between our senior management and VAGs.

A surprising announcement, and a good one in my book. Great move, I think. I said the same thing about Paddy! But THIS TIME IT'S DIFFERENT. haha.

Fresh and uncorrupted. Good record. Good rapport with Capito. Nice "we're rebuilding" ring to it all. I honestly have a good feeling about it.

Definitely better than whatever Williams had yesterday in the TD post. Ahem.

Welcome.

Getting more and more excited!

This is awesome news. For very senior guys from other categories/Auto companies coming in, I get the feeling we are starting to become an attractive proposition again after so many years of being footnotes in the field.