McLaren Racing has announced that Eric Boullier would be stepping down as Racing Director after the Frenchman handed in his resignation to the team.
Chief Executive Zak Brown accepted the resignation yesterday and announced a simplified technical leadership team as part of the process.
Simon Roberts, COO of McLaren Racing, will oversee production, engineering and logistics. Andrea Stella is appointed Performance Director, responsible for trackside operations. Gil de Ferran takes up the new role of Sporting Director.
“The performance of the MCL33 in 2018 has not met the expectations of anyone at McLaren, especially our loyal fans.” said Brown. “This is not the fault of the hundreds of committed and hard-working men and women at McLaren.”
“The causes are systemic and structural, which require major change from within. With today’s announcement, we start to address those issues head on and take the first step on our road to recovery.
“I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the entire team to thank Eric for his service and contribution to McLaren and wish him well in his future endeavours.”
Credit: McLaren F1 Team
Failed potential for Boullier at McLaren
Boullier added, “I am very proud to have worked with such a brilliant team over the past four years, but I recognise now is the right time for me to step down. I want to wish everyone at McLaren the best for the remainder of the season and for the future.”
The Frenchman joined the team in 2014 after five years at Renault F1 team / Lotus F1 team as McLaren looked to bring back their glory years.
A switch to Honda engines in 2015 and Fernando Alonso rejoining the team gave fans hope of the team pushing back in to upper echelons of the sport once again but actually led to one of the most uncompetitive periods for the team since the late 1970s/early 80’s.
Renewed hope at the start of the year with a switch to Renault power has fizzled out, and the resignation signals the start of a new era for McLaren as the look for their first podium since Australia 2014, and their first win since Brazil 2012.
