New F1 role for McNish

Heading into Round four of the FIA Formula 1 Championship in Miami, Audi Revolut F1 Team has announced the appointment of Allan McNish as Racing Director, bringing his enormous motorsport experience to the continued development of its Formula One project.

While McNish has been involved with the Audi Formula One project from the outset and already heads up the team’s Driver Development Program, he will now also assume responsibility for co-ordinating all trackside operations from this weekend forward.

McNish’s role will be crucial to the continued growth of the team and his tremendous experience as both a driver and in senior leadership roles makes him the perfect fit for the team where he will will report directly to CEO and Team Principal, of the Audi Revolut F1 Team, Mattia Binotto.“Allan brings an exceptional combination of racing experience, technical understanding and leadership to this role,” says Binotto of the appointment.

“He has been a central part of the motorsport structure of Audi for many years and, in his roles within Audi Revolut F1 Team since its start, has played a key role in shaping our preparation for Formula One, not least with his work around technical partnerships.

“This appointment strengthens our trackside leadership at a crucial stage of our project. Allan’s ability to connect all performance-related areas – from sporting operations to driver development – will be fundamental as we continue to build our team.”

His new role will see McNish oversee all sporting matters, engineering co-ordination, driver management, race strategy and garage operations, as well as on-track media and partner activities.

It is a role for which Allan McNish is supremely qualified having enjoyed tremendous success both as a driver and then in numerous motorsport management roles for Audi. Himself a former Formula One driver, McNish is perhaps best known as a driver for the key role he played in Audi’s dominance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the FIA World Endurance Championship. His multiple victories at La Sarthe came during a time when Audi Sport became the most successful manufacturer in the 24 hour classic of the modern age and culminated in an FIA World Endurance Championship title.

Following his retirement from driving, McNish held numerous titles within the Audi Sport brand including Director of Co-ordination for Audi Group Motorsport and Team Principal of Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler in Formula E – winning the Teams’ Championship in the latter role in the 2017/2018 Formula E season.

For McNish, slipping into the Racing Director’s role in addition to his continued position overseeing driver development is a natural fit and continues his lifelong involvement with motorsport at the highest levels.

“It is a privilege to take on the role of Racing Director for Audi Revolut F1 Team,” says McNish. “This is a marque that means a lot to me and it is an honour to be able to represent Audi and our partners on the most prestigious stage in motorsports. This is an exciting challenge at a pivotal moment in the history of Audi and Formula One, and I am looking forward to contributing even more directly to our trackside performance.

“The project we are building is ambitious, and my focus will be on ensuring that all aspects of our race operations are delivering at their most competitive level and continuously improving. Together with our Driver Development Program, to which I remain fully committed, my focus will be on implementing the building blocks for our success, under the direction of Mattia and the Board of Directors.”

The action will get underway once again this weekend with Round Four of the FIA Formula 1 Championship in Miami.