Williams Racing has announced the appointment of Jost Capito, a more than 40-year veteran of the automotive and motorsports industry, as its new CEO. He will officially join the Formula 1 team on February 1. Reporting to Williams Chairman Matthew Savage, Capito will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the company. 

“We are excited to welcome Jost Capito as the new CEO of Williams Racing,” Savage 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.” 

After beginning his motorsports career as a driver in the mid-1970s, Capito held positions with BMW M GmbH, Porsche to manage its racing programs, and Sauber Petronas Engineering’s executive committee. He subsequently joined Ford in 2001, where he was Ford Europe’s motorsport director. In this role, Jost helped to win the WRC manufacturers’ titles in both 2006 and 2007.

In 2012, Jost joined Volkswagen as motorsport director, and after a brief stint at McLaren, was chosen to lead Volkswagen R GmbH, the department in charge of the company’s performance cars.

As part of the announcement, Williams Racing has also confirmed that Simon Roberts will officially take on the Team Principal’s role, reporting to Jost.

For more information: williamsf1.com.