Allan McNish becomes Audi's F1 racing director with immediate effect

McNish was a test driver for McLaren in F1 and raced for Toyota in 2003

McNish was a test driver for McLaren in F1 and raced for Toyota in 2003

Essentially his role as racing director will be to manage F1 weekends from a sporting and performance perspective, taking responsibility for engineering and strategy decisions as well as driver management. He will report directly to Binotto.

"Allan brings an exceptional combination of racing experience, technical understanding and leadership to this role," said Binotto.

"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."

McNish will continue to mentor Audi's F1 Academy drivers

McNish will continue to mentor Audi's F1 Academy drivers

"It is a privilege to take on the role of racing director for Audi Revolut F1 Team," said McNish.

"This is a marque that means a lot to me and it is an honour to be able to represent Audi and our partners on the most prestigious stage in motorsports. 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.

"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. Together with our driver development programme, 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."

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