Allan McNish named as Audi F1 Racing Director

By Teagan Crump

Audi Formula One have announced that former F1 driver Allan McNish will be stepping up to the role of racing director following former team principal Jonathan Wheatley’s departure in March.

📸: Audi

McNish has held a role at Audi for many years, with the Scot having been the advisor for the company’s board. More recently, he has also been involved in the Audi F1 project.

As race director, McNish will be responsible for the oversight of sporting matters, engineering coordination, driver management, race strategy and garage operations and media and partner activities, according to a team statement.

Throughout his career, he won the Le Mans 24 Hours twice and was the 2013 World Endurance Championship champion. The Scot raced in F1 in 2002 with Toyota and served as Audi Formula E’s team principal. In addition to his new role, McNish is also the head of Audi’s young driver programme.

Following the announcement, McNish said:

“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 F1, 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."

Mattia Binotto, CEO and team principal at Audi F1, said: "Allan brings an exceptional combination of racing experience, technical understanding and leadership to this role. He has been a central part of the motorsport structure of Audi for many years and has played a key role in shaping our preparation for F1, not least with his work around technical partnerships."

Allan McNish’s new role will commence at the Miami Grand Prix which will take place from 1st- 3rd May.