Piers Thynne moves from McLaren F1 to Williams F1

British Formula One team McLaren Racing has announced that their former Chief Operating Officer, Piers Thynne, has left the team and will be joining Williams Racing from August 2026. Thynne had been part of McLaren since 2008, holding multiple positions including being the team’s Chief Operating Officer between March 2023 and January 2026. He most recently held the role of the Manager for McLaren’s Heritage Programme prior to his departure from the reigning Constructors’ champions. 

At Williams, Thynne will join the team as their Chief Optimisation and Planning Officer from August 2026 and will work towards transforming manufacturing and operations at the team. Along with Thynne, Williams Racing also signed Claire Simpson and Fred Judd for the Formula One divisions, with Simpson joining the team as their Head of Aerodynamic Development while Judd takes up the role of the Head of Performance Optimisation. Both Simpson and Judd moved to McLaren from Mercedes. Additionally, McLaren have also signed Steve Booth from Alpine, who will take up the role of Williams’ Head of Vehicle Engineering.

Piers Thynne, incoming Chief Optimisation and Planning Officer, Williams Racing, commented,

“I am delighted to be joining Atlassian Williams F1 Team at what is a really exciting moment. Williams has clear ambition to be championship level in all areas and set new standards in the sport, and I can’t wait to play my part in that as a member of the senior leadership group. 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.”

James Vowles, Team Principal, Williams Racing, said,

“I am thrilled to be welcoming Piers to Atlassian Williams F1 Team as we continue investing in the people, processes and technology to compete at the front in Formula 1. We are clear in our ambition to build a team that can win World Championships, and Piers has unrivalled recent experience in doing exactly that. I am also delighted to welcome Claire, Fred and Steve – we are attracting extremely talented strategic recruits from throughout the paddock who will add to the foundations we have already put in place over the past few years and help take us to the next level.”