Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Williams has hired former McLaren chief operating officer Piers Thynne as its new chief optimisation and planning officer from August, making him the centerpiece of an expanded recruitment push aimed at accelerating James Vowles’ rebuild of the Formula 1 team.
Thynne will take up a newly created senior role focused on transforming manufacturing and operations at Grove. Williams said his brief includes streamlining processes, optimizing resources and deploying robotics, AI and advanced manufacturing as it tries to modernize its facilities and move closer to the front of the grid.
The significance of the move lies in where Thynne is coming from. Williams has cast him as a central figure in McLaren’s operational and cultural transformation, one that underpinned back-to-back constructors’ championships in 2024 and 2025. He left McLaren in January and will join Williams in August.
James Vowles, Williams team principal, said the team is “clear in our ambition to build a team that can win World Championships, and Piers has unrivalled recent experience in doing exactly that.”
Thynne said he saw the same intent at Williams. “I have enjoyed a fantastic time at McLaren, helping bring the team back to the top, and hope we will be able to do the same at Williams,” he said.
Williams paired the Thynne announcement with three more senior hires from rival teams, underlining that this is not a single headline signing but a broader effort to strengthen its technical leadership. Claire Simpson arrives from Mercedes as head of aerodynamic development after 12 years there. Fred Judd joins from Mercedes High Performance Powertrains as head of performance optimisation after 17 years in roles that included chief trackside engineer and leading the 2026 power unit program. Steve Booth has already started as head of vehicle engineering after leaving Alpine, bringing more than 20 years of Formula 1 experience that includes Renault’s title-winning campaigns in 2005 and 2006.
Williams said the four recruits have worked on 12 championship-winning cars and bring more than 65 years of Formula 1 experience. The team also said more senior leaders from across the grid will join in the coming months, a sign that Vowles’ long-term attempt to rebuild Williams into a championship contender is still gathering pace.