Williams strengthens leadership with major McLaren and Mercedes hire

Williams has made another decisive move in its aggressive rebuilding programme by recruiting Piers Thynne from McLaren as the team’s new Chief Optimisation and Planning Officer, a role created to modernise and transform Williams’ manufacturing and operational capability ahead of the next competitive cycle.

Thynne, who served as Chief Operating Officer at McLaren until January, will join Williams in August as part of the senior leadership group. His remit is broad and strategically critical: streamline processes, optimise resources, and deploy cutting‑edge technologies — including robotics, AI and advanced manufacturing — to bring Williams’ infrastructure up to the standard required for sustained front‑running performance.

Thynne was a central figure in McLaren’s dramatic turnaround, which culminated in back‑to‑back Constructors’ Championships in 2024 and 2025. With more than 25 years of experience in operations and manufacturing leadership, he arrives at Grove with a track record of delivering cultural and structural transformation at the highest level.

In his first public comments since the announcement, Thynne said: “I am delighted to be joining Atlassian Williams F1 Team at what is a really exciting moment.

"Williams has clear ambition to be championship level in all areas and set new standards in the sport, and I can’t wait to play my part in that as a member of the senior leadership group. I have enjoyed a fantastic time at McLaren, helping bring the team back to the top, and hope we will be able to do the same at Williams.”

His appointment reflects Williams’ shift toward a more integrated, technology‑driven operational model — a philosophy championed by Team Principal James Vowles, who has repeatedly emphasised that the team’s revival depends on modernising its processes as much as its car.

Thynne’s arrival headlines a broader recruitment drive that brings three additional senior technical leaders to Grove, each with championship‑winning pedigree and deep experience across Formula 1’s most successful organisations.

Joining after 12 years at Mercedes, where she rose to Group Leader and contributed to eight Constructors’ titles, Simpson will work alongside Chief Aerodynamicist Juan Molina to strengthen Williams’ aerodynamic development pipeline.

Arriving from Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, Judd brings 17 years of experience across power unit and chassis integration, including roles as Chief Trackside Engineer and leader of the 2026 power unit development programme. He will guide Williams’ Performance Systems Optimisation team, built over the past 15 months.

Booth joins from Alpine, where he served as Chief Engineer through the 2022 and 2026 regulation cycles. With more than 20 years in F1 and experience dating back to Renault’s 2005 and 2006 Constructors’ Championships, he will oversee the day‑to‑day technical and personnel management of car design.

Collectively, the new recruits bring over 65 years of experience and have contributed to 12 championship‑winning cars. They follow the April arrival of Dan Milner from Mercedes as Chief Engineer – Vehicle Technology, with further senior hires expected in the coming months.

Team Principal James Vowles welcomed the appointments as a major step in Williams’ long‑term competitive plan: “I am thrilled to be welcoming Piers to Atlassian Williams F1 Team as we continue investing in the people, processes and technology to compete at the front in Formula 1.

"We are clear in our ambition to build a team that can win World Championships, and Piers has unrivalled recent experience in doing exactly that.

"I am also delighted to welcome Claire, Fred and Steve — we are attracting extremely talented strategic recruits from throughout the paddock who will add to the foundations we have already put in place over the past few years and help take us to the next level.”