» Williams strengthens engineering team

The Williams team has further strengthened its engineering department ahead of the 2015 Formula 1 season, announcing that former McLaren engineer Dave Robson has joined its line-up as Felipe Massa’s new engineer.

Robson, who has served as Jenson Button’s race engineer, will report to Williams’ Head of Vehicle Performance Rob Smedley. Massa’s previous race engineer, Andrew Murdoch, has been promoted to the role of Senior Performance Engineer, where he will lead the team’s Performance Group at its Grove factory.

Murdoch will continue to have a presence at each Grand Prix where he will focus on Valtteri Bottas’ car. The Finn will continue to have Jonathan Eddolls as his race engineer.

As part of the team’s reshuffle, longstanding chief mechanic Carl Gaden has been promoted to the role of Senior Car Systems Engineer, with Mark Pattinson – previously Massa’s primary mechanic – taking on Gaden’s former role.

“Off the back of a great 2014 campaign Williams is determined to continue this positive momentum into the new season, and these recent changes show our commitment to that goal,” Williams’ Chief Technical Officer, Pat Symonds, said.

“We are proud to be able to promote our existing talent to help strengthen every area within our engineering team and we will continue to invest in new talent where necessary to ensure we have the support and resources to achieve our on-track ambitions throughout 2015 and beyond.

“Our engineering team for the coming season is looking strong and I’m excited to get the new season underway.”

Image via XPB Images