Williams has said that team principal Jost Capito as well as technical director Francois-Xavier FX Demaison are both leaving their jobs, know about their F1 career
Capito has been in charge of Williams since Dorilton Capital bought the team, which has won multiple world championships, in 2020. In the constructors’ championship, Williams came in eighth in 2021 and last in 2022, which were both full seasons.
Williams said that both Capito and Demaison will leave their jobs during the off-season. Capito, who used to be the director of motorsports at Volkswagen, was going to retire before he accepted an offer to join Williams first as CEO and then as team principal starting in June 2021.
Know Who Is FX Demaison Ex-Williams Technical Director Demaison, His F1 Career And Teams
Demaison, also known as “FX,” has a lot of experience in the automotive and motorsports industries. He has had a lot of success in the World Rally Championship, for example. He joined Williams in 2021.
Demaison spent the last 10 years at Volkswagen, where he headed up their technical department and was in charge of the VW Polo WRC, which won three World Rally Championship titles in a row from 2013 to 2016. Demaison worked with Williams CEO Jost Capito and formed a strong partnership with him.
He was directly responsible for the Polo R WRC car which went on to win all three titles in the World Rally Championship four times in a row between 2013 and 2016 and also helped develop ground-breaking technology with the ID.R electric race car which found success at Pikes Peak and the Nurburgring.
He has also worked in Formula One for a short time on Peugeot’s engine programme. This is thought to have made him even more determined to work in the championship for the long term.
Williams Looks Beyond F1 For Leadership Role
Putting someone with so little F1 experience in charge of one of the most important jobs in a racing team is a bold move, but it’s all part of Capito’s plan to get Williams back to the front of the grid.
The new CEO is still analysing the company and its different departments, but it is clear to him that the company already has a lot of talented engineers, designers, and aerodynamicists.
Since Paddy Lowe left his job as Technical Director two years ago, what was really needed was a leader to bring everyone together and get the department working well, not someone to tell them how to make the car.
Capito made it a top priority to fill that role, because the new technical rules that will go into effect in 2022 will change a lot, and time is of the essence. FX was at the top of the new CEO’s list.
He is thought to think highly of his skills as an engineer and leader, and Volkswagen employees know how hard he works. Sources also say that Demaison is not afraid to make big decisions, which is similar to how Capito thinks.
Demaison was also in charge of making the groundbreaking ID.R electric race car, which was made in just six months using only simulation tools and went on to set multiple speed records at Pikes Peak and the Nurburgring. As new technologies come out in the future, this set of skills and technical knowledge could be very important to a Formula 1 racing team.
How Will Demaison Fit In With The Rest Of The Team?
Capito will run a simple, flat organisation in which the Technical Director (Demaison), Team Principal and Racing Director (Simon Roberts), and Operations Director (James Colgate) will all report directly to him.
There won’t be a Chief Operating Officer to bring the three of them together, which makes sense in this case since Capito has a lot of experience as an engineer.
A structure like this will require people to take on more responsibility in their own areas, but it will also encourage healthy competition between engineering and the race track, which should, in theory, bring the two sides of the business together.
Williams hasn’t told Demaison when he can start working, but it’s hoped that he can start next month.
When he starts, he’ll have a tough job, but he’ll also have the chance to write a new chapter in the history of one of F1’s most famous teams.
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