Albon to get new race engineer as Williams prepares engineering succession

GPblog understands that Urwin, who has served as Albon's race engineer since 2023, will move into a different position within Williams after spending more than a decade in trackside engineering. The change is intended to give him a better work-life balance while allowing the British team to retain his extensive experience within the organisation. As a result, Albon will have a new race engineer from the start of the 2027 season.

Who will take over the role has not yet been decided. GPblog understands that Williams is currently focused on succession planning for several key trackside positions, but no decision has yet been made on who will replace Urwin.

The changes within Williams' engineering team come after months of speculation surrounding Tom Hart. Max Verstappen's performance engineer was linked with a move to Williams by several media outlets late last year. Reports later suggested Hart would remain at Red Bull Racing for one more season before joining Williams in 2027. However, that move was never officially announced.

The story took another turn last week, when it emerged that Red Bull would keep Hart after all following the announced departure of Gianpiero Lambiase. Reports even claimed team principal Laurent Mekies had personally approached James Vowles in an attempt to reverse the move, allowing Hart to be groomed as Verstappen's future race engineer.

GPblog has learned, however, that Hart's proposed move to Williams was never formalised and thus was based on speculation. Likewise, neither Red Bull nor Williams commented on the reported exchange between Mekies and Vowles.

What is changing, however, is Williams' own engineering line-up. Albon will work with a new race engineer from next season onwards, while Urwin moves into a different role within the organisation. His successor has yet to be determined.