Williams finally finds a successor: Roberts is the new sports director

Williams has, for the first time in ages, appointed a new member to the management team. Simon Roberts will strengthen the team from Grove from June and will become the new sports director of the once feared team.

Roberts is no stranger to Formula 1. In 2003 Roberts joined McLaren and became Operations Director and General Manager. In 2009 Roberts made a temporary move to the new Force India, but after a year he returned to McLaren to take up the role of Operations Director again. In 2017 he was appointed Operations Officer during the renewals.

''Simon brings a lot of experience and knowledge to Williams and we are happy that he will be part of our team. He will lead a talented team to return to the top'', says Claire Williams in a statement. Williams stays on as team boss, but Roberts has a direct line with CEO Mike O'Driscoll.

At the moment the factories are at a standstill due to the coronavirus, but as of June Roberts is allowed to start at the race stable of Frank Williams. He will focus on the design and development of the Formula 1 cars, with which he is actually the successor of Paddy Lowe, who left in March 2019.