Williams appoints Jost Capito as CEO, Simon Roberts remains team principal

F1

Williams has announced ex-Volkswagen boss Jost Capito will join the team next year as CEO

Jost Capito, McLaren 2016

Jost Capito will return to F1 with Williams in 2021

Jean Michel Le Meur / DPPI

Williams has confirmed that Jost Capito will join the team as chief executive officer and that Simon Roberts will remain as team principal next season.

Capito will join the team from February 2021 for his second stint in Formula 1 while Roberts will remain in his role having served as acting team principal since the team’s takeover by Dorilton Capital back in August. Roberts will report directly to Capito.

He returns to Formula 1 four years after his last stint in the series. He spent four months with McLaren but was a casualty of Ron Dennis’ departure from the team.

“It’s a great honour for me to join Williams Racing during these exciting and demanding times for both the team and for Formula 1,” he said of his announcement.

“It is an honour to be a part of the future of this storied team, and one that carries such a poignant name in the sport, so I approach this challenge with great respect and with a huge amount of relish.”

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In the past, Capito has worked with the likes of BMW, Porsche and Sauber as well as overseeing Ford’s involvement with its World Rally Championship programme which brought two manufacturers’ titles in 2006 and 2007.

In 2012, Capito joined Volkswagen as its motor sport director and oversaw its WRC programme, securing three-consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ titles in that time.

He joined McLaren for a brief spell in 2016, overseeing the operation of the team, until the departure of Ron Dennis and structural reorganisation that followed.

Chairman of Dorilton Capital Matthew Savage said that the appointment was the next step in restoring the Williams team to the front of the Formula 1 grid.

“We are excited to welcome Jost Capito as the new CEO of Williams Racing,” he said. “He is an experienced and competitive individual, who has built winning teams and is a winner in his own right.  He understands the Williams heritage and will work well with the team in pursuit of our objective to return to the front of the grid.”