Lowe joins Williams as chief technical officer

Former Mercedes technical boss Paddy Lowe has been appointed as Williams’ chief technical officer, taking overall responsibility for the group’s engineering operation. Lowe will also join the board of directors and take a shareholding in the company.

“I‘ve always had a deep respect for Williams - my first team in Formula One,” said Lowe, who started his F1 career with the Grove squad back in 1987. “It is a huge honour to return in this leadership position and to have the opportunity to become a shareholder.”

During his 29 years in F1 racing, Lowe has contributed to 158 race wins, seven drivers’ championship titles and five constructors’ championship titles: an impressive CV making him one of the leading engineers in the Formula One paddock.

“I am extremely motivated to play my part in bringing success back to the team,” he said of rejoining Williams. “The vision for the future set out by the Williams Board is powerful and has compelled me to join an organisation committed to building on its unique legacy and to reaching the pinnacle of Formula One once again.

“I’m looking forward to this exciting new phase to my career working with Claire, Mike and Nick and with the rest of this great team - especially Frank himself, who is one of the most committed 'racers' I know!”

Claire Williams, deputy team principal, added; “I am delighted that the team is welcoming Paddy back to Williams in the role of Chief Technical Officer. Having someone of Paddy’s calibre and engineering competence is not only a morale boost for everyone at Williams, but I know it will also significantly support our efforts to return this team back to the front of the grid.

"Our ambitions at Williams are unwavering, we want to win races and championships, but to do that you need the best talent in the business. In Paddy we believe we have just that as well as a leader who will drive change. This is a game changer for us and once again makes us extremely excited about this team’s future.”

Commenting on Lowe's appointment to the Board of Directors, Chairman of the Board, Nick Rose added: "Paddy will be a great addition to our Board bringing his deep technical expertise and overall business knowledge and management skills. Alongside Claire and Mike, he will be one of the three key executive directors running our business day-to-day."

Lowe’s first Williams post back in the 1980s was as a control systems engineer, working with Sir Patrick Head and Adrian Newey. In his six years with the team he helped pioneer the active suspension system that took Nigel Mansell to the 1992 world championship in the FW14B.

He then moved to McLaren in 1993 and spent two decades at the Woking-based team in the positions of Head of Research and Development, chief engineer, engineering director and finally technical director, helping the team secure three drivers’ championships and one constructors’ championship during that time.

He moved into his most recent post with Mercedes, as Executive Director (Technical), in June 2013 and helped lead the Silver Arrows to record dominance in the Formula One drivers’ and constructors’ world championships.