Ex-VW, McLaren head Jost Capito to become Williams F1's CEO
German motor industry and racing veteran Jost Capito will become Williams Formula 1 team's new CEO in February, while Simon Roberts takes on the role of team principal full-time
Capito, 62, has a busy CV that features spells working for several manufacturers and F1 teams in a variety of roles.
A former motorbike racer and Paris-Dakar participant, he worked at BMW in the late 1980s as a powertrain development engineer, before moving to Porsche in a motorsport management role in 1989.
He joined Sauber in 1996 as a member of the managing committee, becoming chief operating officer two years later.
He was with the Swiss team for five years as it developed relationships with the likes of Ford, Petronas and Red Bull.
He joined Ford in October 2001 as director of special vehicle engineering, and spent a decade with the company in various jobs, eventually becoming director of global performance vehicles and motorsport business development.
In May 2012 he became head of VW Motorsport, overseeing its successful World Rally Championship programme, before moving to McLaren as CEO in September 2016, though he stayed for just five months before departing.
He then returned to Volkswagen in June 2017 to run its R performance car division, before leaving in October. He subsequently stated on his Linkedin profile that he was "looking for a new challenges".
"It's a great honour for me to join Williams Racing during these exciting and demanding times for both the team and for F1," he said.
"It is an honour to be a part of the future of this storied team, and one that carries such a poignant name in the sport, so I approach this challenge with great respect and with a huge amount of relish."
Dorilton boss and Williams chairman Matthew Savage said of Capito: "He is an experienced and competitive individual, who has built winning teams and is a winner in his own right.
"He understands the Williams heritage and will work well with the team in pursuit of our objective to return to the front of the grid."
Roberts will report to Capito, who will in turn report to Savage.
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