Pat Fry joins Williams as Chief Technical Officer

On the eve of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, Williams introduced the appointment of Pat Fry who will tackle the position of the crew’s new Chief Technical Officer.

Born in Surrey, Fry started his Formulation 1 journey in 1987 and, since then, he has held senior engineering positions at a few of the sport’s most prestigious groups, together with McLaren and Ferrari. All through his profession, Pat has performed a pivotal position in attaining quite a few successes and contributing to a number of race and championship victories.

Throughout his time at McLaren, which spanned a powerful 17 years, Fry made vital contributions to the crew’s success. He was instrumental in securing 66 Grand Prix wins, one Constructors’ Championship victory, and three Drivers’ Championships. Beginning as a Race Engineer on the take a look at crew creating lively suspension, Fry held varied positions inside the crew, together with the position of Chief Engineer and race engineering positions with F1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen and a number of GP winner David Coulthard.

In 2010, Pat launched into a brand new chapter in his profession, becoming a member of Ferrari as Assistant Technical Director. Through the years, he took on essential roles corresponding to Head of Race Observe Engineering, Director of Chassis, and Director of Engineering on the Maranello-based crew.

After a brief break, Pat returned to Formulation 1 in 2016 as an Engineering Advisor for Manor Racing earlier than briefly rejoining McLaren as Engineering Director on a contract foundation in 2018.

In February 2020, Pat joined the Alpine F1 Workforce as Chassis Technical Director, then assumed the place of Chief Technical Officer in February 2022. On this capability, he oversaw all technical actions on the Enstone-based crew.

Now, Fry is Set to deliver his wealth of information and experience to Williams Racing, commencing his position as Chief Technical Officer later this yr.

Talking of the announcement, Williams Workforce Principal James Vowles added: “On behalf of all at Williams Racing, I’m delighted to be welcoming Pat. His data and expertise will additional strengthen the crew’s technical capabilities and pursuit of excellence as we construct the subsequent chapter of Williams. Pat has been a core a part of successful groups all through his profession, he is among the most revered consultants in our trade and I’m excited to start work with him when he joins in November.”

Fry commented: “I’m thrilled to be becoming a member of Williams Racing as Chief Technical Officer. The crew has a wealthy heritage in Formulation 1, and I’m excited to contribute to its future success. I imagine within the crew’s potential and, collectively, we are going to try for excellence on and off the observe.”