Audi’s Formula 1 team has announced Allan McNish as its new racing director, assuming many of the responsibilities held by team principal Jonathan Wheatley before his unexpected departure in March.
Following that move, Audi’s F1 CEO Mattia Binotto confirmed that he would Audi F1 boss may have revealed why Wheatley quit and discharge most of the duties required of that position – but also that he would mostly be factory-based, requiring someone to take the leadership role during race weekends.
“For the future, I think we are not looking for a new team principal,” Binotto said at the time.
“I will keep the role, but I will need someone to support me at the race weekends because I will not be always at the race weekend myself. I need to focus most at the factory where there is the most to transform – I would say, not only to develop, to transform.
“So certainly a support at the race weekend is required.”
McNish, a world endurance champion and three-time winner at Le Mans behind the wheel of an Audi, has long been considered the favourite for that position. Since hanging up his helmet he has remained part of the Audi motorsport ecosystem, heading up the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler team in Formula E and most recently taking the lead in Audi’s driver development programme.
McNish was a test driver for McLaren in F1 and raced for Toyota in 2003
Photo by: Getty Images
Essentially his role as racing director will be to manage F1 weekends from a sporting and performance perspective, taking responsibility for engineering and strategy decisions as well as driver management. He will report directly to Binotto.
“Allan brings an exceptional combination of racing experience, technical understanding and leadership to this role,” said Binotto.
“He has been a central part of the motorsport structure of Audi for many years and, in his roles within Audi Revolut F1 Team since its start, has played a key role in shaping our preparation for Formula 1, not least with his work around technical partnerships.
“This appointment strengthens our trackside leadership at a crucial stage of our project. Allan’s ability to connect all performance-related areas – from sporting operations to driver development – will be fundamental as we continue to build our team.”
“It is a privilege to take on the role of racing director for Audi Revolut F1 Team,” said McNish.
“This is a marque that means a lot to me and it is an honour to be able to represent Audi and our partners on the most prestigious stage in motorsports. This is an exciting challenge at a pivotal moment in the history of Audi and Formula 1, and I am looking forward to contributing even more directly to our trackside performance.
McNish will continue to mentor Audi’s F1 Academy drivers
Photo by: Getty Images
“The project we are building is ambitious, and my focus will be on ensuring that all aspects of our race operations are delivering at their most competitive level and continuously improving. Together with our driver development programme, to which I remain fully committed, my focus will be on implementing the building blocks for our success, under the direction of Mattia and the Board of Directors.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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