McLaren's aero coup

McLaren has convinced Red Bull Racing’s head of aerodynamics Peter Prodromou to return to Woking.

Prodromou worked for McLaren from 1991 to 2006 before following Adrian Newey to RBR, where he has been a major player through the team’s championship years. Although he is still contractually tied to his current employer, and in theory cannot rejoin McLaren until 2015, the knowledge that he is leaving is a huge blow to Red Bull.

McLaren has made it clear that Prodromou is one of several key appointments. “He’s a great guy, and very competitive,” said McLaren Racing MD Jonathan Neale. “But no one person makes a difference in a team like this. It’s how they fit in, how we play to their strengths and who else we put around them. I’m confident Peter can make a good contribution, but the guys we have internally are equally exciting.

“There are other things that we are doing to strengthen our team, so it’s a series of moves as we head towards 2015 with Honda. We need to make sure this team stays at the forefront of F1 and is set for winning ways.”