Demaison joins Williams as technical director

Williams has announced the signing of Francois-Xavier Demaison as the team’s new technical director, bringing the Frenchman in from Volkswagen Motorsport.

Demaison has previously worked in Formula 1, touring cars and the World Rally Championship for Renault and Peugeot, before joining Volkswagen in 2011 and becoming technical director for all of VW’s motorsport activities in 2016. Recently he oversaw the ID.R electric race car that broke multiple records at Pikes Peak and the Nurburgring, and he will now join Williams as technical director under his former colleague Jost Capito.

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“I am really looking forward to joining Williams Racing, as they begin an exciting journey to turn their performance around,” Demaison said. “It’s going to be a great challenge, but one that I am eager to start. They have a great team of talented people, and I hope I can work with them and the senior management team to help carve out a direction for the future, to help the team achieve its ambitions.”

Capito is now the Williams Racing CEO but previously worked at VW himself, and said Demaison’s track record makes him an exciting addition to the F1 outfit as it looks to move into a new era.

“We are delighted to welcome FX to the team,” Capito said. “I have seen his technical capabilities first-hand, and his sporting successes speak for themselves. Bringing in someone of his calibrer to our already experienced technical team will help drive the future direction of our operation and strengthen our team.

“I have no doubt that his knowledge will contribute to us taking another important step towards our ambitions of winning again. At Williams we have an exciting challenge ahead of us, and I look forward to seeing FX contribute as we continue on this journey.”