FIA appoints ex-Red Bull F1 man as its first head of research
Former Red Bull, Sauber and BMW engineer Tim Malyon has been named as the FIA's first head of research, with a focus on safety issues
The appointment gives the governing body some valuable engineering expertise after it lost key employees Marcin Budkowski and Laurent Mekies to high profile jobs with teams over the past couple of seasons.
Malyon will be based at the safety department in the FIA's Geneva office. The governing body says that the role "has been created to oversee the growing number of safety research projects undertaken by the FIA.
"In addition, Malyon is tasked with managing the FIA's research groups and associated working groups, as well as an increased focus on accident investigation."
He has already chaired the most recent meeting of the Research Working Group, which covers safety issues in all forms of motorsport.
A graduate of Leeds University, Malyon (pictured above with Sebastian Vettel) worked at Red Bull in a variety of roles for 12 seasons, having originally joined the team when it was still known as Jaguar Racing. He was part of the race engineering team from 2008 to 2014.
He joined Sauber as head of track engineering at the start of 2016, before leaving after just five months to BMW to work as chief engineer of its DTM programme the following year.
His most recent role was as BMW's head of track engineering, with a focus on the Formula E project.
"I'm really proud to be joining the FIA as its first head of research," said Malyon.
"I know safety in motorsport is paramount for the FIA, and this is a great opportunity to bring my engineering experience to this essential work."
Share Or Save This Story
Krack: Aston Martin F1 team no longer in “no-man’s land”
Gasly rues costly floor damage from Ocon contact in F1 Japanese GP
How an F1 underachiever became a Japanese political player
The pointed note that starts Ferrari's Leclerc vs Sainz era
Albon: No point 'wallowing about' over lost Red Bull F1 place
The small change that will be F1 2021's big talking point
Title-winning BTCC Peugeot and Harvey in an MG among Touring Car Rewind: North highlights
MotoGP Barcelona test: Acosta fastest as rain curtails running early
Why this year's Indy 500 isn't as straightforward to call as you might expect
Will Mercedes or McLaren land the next punch at F1's Canadian GP?
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments