McLaren announces departure of James Key, signs key Ferrari engineer

McLaren have announced the departure of their technical director James Key as part of their organizational changes within the team. The Woking-based team will replace Key with David Sanchez in the role of Technical Director of Car Concepts and Performance. Peter Perdromou will take up the role of the Technical Director, Aerodynamics.

Announcing the changes within the team, the team released a statement saying:

“The team has taken the decision to move away from a single Executive Technical Director role, overseeing the whole technical operation. Instead, it will be introducing a Formula 1 Technical Executive Team comprising of three new specialised Technical Director roles, reporting directly to Team Principal Andrea Stella. James Key, Executive Technical Director has left the team as part of this restructure.”

McLaren will have two technical directors where Sanchez, who previously worked with Ferrari, will overlook the car concept and performance side. Meanwhile, Adrian Newey’s former pupil Pedromou will overlook the technical directorship on the aerodynamic side.

The move comes as a part of several changes within the team to restructure it organisationally. Key’s departure has been announced as a part of some of these changes.

Sanchez was with McLaren before he moved to Maranello, where he worked as head of the Vehicle concept. The Frenchman was poached by the Woking team in March and has been on gardening leave since. He will be joining the Papaya Orange squad in January 2024 as per their announcement.

Meanwhile, Neil Houldey, who was previously director of car concepts and performance, has been reassigned to the role of Technical Director of Engineering and Design.

Explaining the changes in the technical department, McLaren's statement read:

“The F1 Technical Executive Team includes Peter Prodromou, who moves into the role of Technical Director, Aerodynamics. Peter will lead the whole aero function, using his experience gained in 32 years of Formula 1 and a strong track record of winning world championships."

It added:

"David Sanchez returns to McLaren as Technical Director, Car Concept and Performance after a decade at Ferrari, and brings significant expertise and innovation to the team. David will join the team on 1 January 2024."

The statement further stated about Neil Houldey:

"Neil Houldey is promoted into the newly created role of Technical Director, Engineering and Design. Having first joined the team in 2006 Neil has grown within the organisation, becoming a highly respected technical leader.”

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McLaren believe restructuring is an important part of their growth for 2023 and beyond

Explaining the changes, McLaren believe the reorganization is part of restructuring their technical department.

The Woking-based team started the 2023 season on the back foot with a lack of confidence in their car. They were unable to finish on points in Bahrain along with one retirement. In Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, both drivers were unable to finish above 15th and spent most of their race battling back markers.

Describing the reasons for restructuring the technical department, the team statement read:

“This reorganisation has been the work of a number of months and takes place ahead of several new key infrastructure projects which are due to come online in phases throughout 2023. Additionally, the team has been undertaking a sustained recruitment campaign to increase the technical capability, with some senior appointments already made.”

Commenting on the changes within McLaren, Team Principal Andrea Stella said:

“Looking ahead, I am determined and fully focused on leading McLaren back to the front of the field. Since taking on the Team Principal role I have been given the mandate to take a strategic approach to ensure the team is set on a long-term foundation, for us to build on over the years."

He added:

"Looking ahead, I am determined and fully focused on leading McLaren back to the front of the field. Since taking on the Team Principal role I have been given the mandate to take a strategic approach to ensure the team is set on a long-term foundation, for us to build on over the years.”

After the 2022 season, McLaren lost team principal Andreas Seidl to the Audi Alfa Romeo group. These changes reflect the impact of the drop in performance on the track.

Oscar Piastri joined their driver lineup in 2023. The Australian has definitely been able to match Lando Norris in performances compared to his predecessor Daniel Ricciardo. However, the dire need of the hour is to improvise their car package. The current package is not helping them deliver results better than last season but has instead pushed them further down the grid.