Ex-McLaren man Simon Roberts appointed new Williams director

Simon Roberts, who ran the operations of McLaren for a long time, has been announced as the new director of British F1 team Williams.

Williams said in a statement on Monday that Roberts will "take overall responsibility for the design and development process, racing, factory operations and planning".

"Simon will bring enormous experience and knowledge to the Williams team, and we are delighted that he is joining us when we head back to work after this long enforced F1 shutdown," said Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams.

In late 2003, Roberts embarked on his career in Formula One, joining McLaren Racing as Operations Director and General Manager. He was seconded to Force India Formula One for the 2009 season and as Chief Operating Officer had responsibility for all team operations from concept through to the track.

In 2010, he returned to McLaren as Operations Director and a member of their Executive team. He was appointed Chief Operations Officer in 2017, with responsibility for engineering and factory operations.

"He will lead a highly talented team that's looking forward to designing and developing the next generation of Williams F1 cars," added Williams.

He will join Williams on June 1st, at which point he will take responsibility for the F1 Technical, Operations and Planning functions, reporting to CEO, Mike O'Driscoll.