(Motorsport-Total.com) – Williams Racing strengthens its technical and operational leadership level with several high-ranking new additions from Formula 1. The focus is on the appointment of Piers Thynne, who moves from Woking to Grove and will take over the newly created position of Chief Optimisation and Planning Officer from August.
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Thynne was most recently Chief Operating Officer at McLaren and played a central role in the operational and structural transformation of the team, which culminated in the Constructors’ World Championships in 2024 and 2025.
The Briton brings more than twenty-five years of experience in production and operations management and is expected to optimize processes at Williams, use resources more efficiently, and integrate modern technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, and advanced manufacturing methods.
Looking forward to new role
“I am very excited to join Atlassian Williams F1 Team at a truly exciting phase,” says Thynne. “Williams has clear ambitions to operate at world championship level in all areas and to set new standards in the sport. I can hardly wait to contribute to this as part of the leadership group.”
He further explains: “I had a fantastic time at McLaren and was able to help lead the team back to the top. I hope we can achieve the same at Williams.”
Williams relies on experience from top teams
In addition to Thynne, Williams hires three other experienced executives from different Formula 1 teams. Claire Simpson comes from Mercedes and takes on the newly created role of Head of Aerodynamics Development. Simpson worked at Mercedes for twelve years and was part of the team that won eight Constructors’ titles.
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Fred Judd also moves from Mercedes to Williams and will become the new Head of Performance Optimization. Most recently, he was responsible, among other things, for the development of the powertrain project for the 2026 regulations.
The quartet is completed by Steve Booth, who comes from Alpine and will serve as Head of Vehicle Engineering in the future. Booth was previously Chief Engineer at Alpine and already worked on world championship cars during Renault’s successes in 2005 and 2006.
More than 65 years of Formula 1 experience
According to Williams, the four new additions bring together more than 65 years of experience in Formula 1 and have been involved in a total of twelve world championship cars.
Team principal James Vowles sees the appointments as an important step on the way back to the top of Formula 1: “We continue to invest in people, processes, and technologies to compete at the front again in Formula 1. Our ambition is clear: We want to build a team that can win world championships.”
“I am also very pleased to welcome Claire, Fred, and Steve. We are gaining top-class experts from across the paddock who will build on the foundations we have created in recent years and take us to the next level.”
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