To strengthen a Williams team still undergoing reconstruction, team principal James Vowles continues to draw from his knowledge at Mercedes, where he worked for ten years.
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Williams Racing has announced that Dan Milner will become the new technical director in charge of vehicle technology within the team.
He joins the team after two decades spent at Mercedes, including 14 years within the main team.
A pillar of the Silver Arrows
“I am delighted to join Williams F1 Team as technical director in charge of vehicle technology,” Milner said upon confirmation of his arrival.
“After 20 years of association with Brackley, it’s the right time to take on a new challenge, he added. Williams has a clear and ambitious plan to move forward, and I look forward to bringing my experience and knowledge to help accelerate this journey. I am eager to meet the team, discover the organization and start turning ideas into performance on the track.”
Years of experience
Milner rose through the ranks at Mercedes, after starting at Honda as a systems engineer. Before the team became Mercedes, Milner was an R&D engineer at Brawn GP during the 2009 season when the team won both world titles.
Williams technical director Matt Harman added: “Dan brings broad experience and clear leadership. He has led major R&D and powertrain programs, turning ideas into performance, and he knows how to bring teams together to achieve goals.”
“Dan will be central to our technological plan and in transforming innovation into consistent performance gains on the track, he explains. We are therefore delighted to welcome him as we continue our plans to bring Williams F1 Team back to the front of the pack.”
A medium-term plan
This latest significant recruitment demonstrates how much Williams was still an old-fashioned team, built in the last century, and whose management had not always measured the evolution of the competition.
Around Vowles, tasked by the shareholders of Dorilton Capital with restructuring the company into a coherent long-term project, we now find veterans like Pat Fry, Matt Harman and now Dan Milner to bring the Grove team back to the front, even if the task remains arduous.
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