Williams welcomes Antonio Spagnolo to Engineering Operations

Williams is pleased to announce a new addition to its engineering department in an effort to bolster performance for the remainder of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship campaign onwards.

Antonio Spagnolo, former Head of Tyre Performance Group with Ferrari, has joined the Williams Operations Group this week as Competitor Analysis and Performance Concept Team Leader.

In this role, which is focussed on augmenting car performance, Antonio will concentrate on understanding our competitors’ strengths and identifying areas of our performance which require prioritisation of resources. Naturally, in view of his previous role at Ferrari, his considerable experience will be brought to bear in guiding our restructured Tyre Performance Group to better understand and exploit both theoretical and practical aspects of tyre performance.

Joining Williams with a wealth of operational and performance experience, Antonio has held various roles with Ferrari, including Race and Performance Engineer to Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso respectively. Antonio has been with Ferrari since 2005, during which time it has won two Constructors’ titles, in 2007 and ’08, and the ’07 Drivers’ title with Räikkönen.

Antonio’s experience and expertise will be a valuable addition to the Operations Group where he will report in to Head of Performance Engineering, Rob Smedley.

Pat Symonds, Williams Chief Technical Officer, said; “Williams is determined to continue the positive momentum it has had since 2014 and, with new additions to the team, hopes to become even stronger. We are constantly seeing ways to improve our performance and trackside operations and believe Antonio will make a valuable contribution to this process. As a team, we will do our utmost to achieve our on-track ambitions and secure strong positions in the Constructors’ Championship this season, and beyond.”