McNish takes on Audi F1 racing director role

Allan McNish has become the racing director of the Audi Formula 1 team, expanding his motorsports remit for the company.

The former F1 driver and World Endurance champion – who won the Le Mans 24 Hours on three occasions – has been a long-standing member of Audi’s motorsports setup after finishing his racing career with the manufacturer in 2013. Involved with the F1 project since its inception, McNish will now be responsible for all trackside operations, taking over some of the workload from recently departed team principal Jonathan Wheatley (pictured at right, above, with McNish).

“It is a privilege to take on the role of racing director for Audi Revolut F1 Team: this is a marque that means a lot to me and it is an honor to be able to represent Audi and our partners on the most prestigious stage in motorsports,” McNish said. “This is an exciting challenge at a pivotal moment in the history of Audi and Formula 1, and I am looking forward to contributing even more directly to our trackside performance."

McNish – who has also previously served as team principal of Audi’s Formula E team – will report to CEO and team principal Mattia Binotto, who retains overall responsibility for the program.

“The project we are building is ambitious, and my focus will be on ensuring that all aspects of our race operations are delivering at their most competitive level and continuously improving," McNish added. "Together with our driver development program, to which I remain fully committed, my focus will be on implementing the building blocks for our success, under the direction of Mattia and the Board of Directors.”

“Allan brings an exceptional combination of racing experience, technical understanding and leadership to this role,” Binotto said. “He has been a central part of the motorsport structure of Audi for many years and, in his roles within Audi Revolut F1 Team since its start, has played a key role in shaping our preparation for Formula 1, not least with his work around technical partnerships.

“This appointment strengthens our trackside leadership at a crucial stage of our project. Allan’s ability to connect all performance-related areas – from sporting operations to driver development – will be fundamental as we continue to build our team.”

Audi says the new structure will be effective from next weekend’s Miami Grand Prix onwards.