Williams appoints ex-VW man Demaison as technical director
Williams has appointed renowned WRC project leader Francois-Xavier Demaison as the new technical director of its Formula 1 team.
Demaison arrives at Williams after a decade-long spell at Volkswagen Motorsport, where he helped develop the ground-breaking I.D.R electric car that achieved multiple records at Pikes Peak and the Nurburgring.
He was also responsible for the WRC Polo C car that won the rally titles from 2013 and 2016. During that time he forged a close alliance with then VW motorsport boss Jost Capito, who is now Williams CEO.
The Frenchman, who is more commonly known as FX, has also had spells at Peugeot, Subaru and Citroen during a lengthy engineering career. Capito said that Demaison's hiring was great news for Williams as it embarks on a new era under the ownership of Dorilton Capital.
"We are delighted to welcome FX to the team," said Capito. "I have seen his technical capabilities first-hand, and his sporting successes speak for themselves. Bringing in someone of his calibre to our already experienced technical team will help drive the future direction of our operation and strengthen our team.
"I have no doubt that his knowledge will contribute to us taking another important step towards our ambitions of winning again. At Williams we have an exciting challenge ahead of us, and I look forward to seeing FX contribute as we continue on this journey."
Williams has not had a formal technical director since the departure of Paddy Lowe ahead of the start of the 2019 season. Lowe's former duties had been spread out among a number of senior technical staff.
Demaison said he was embracing the opportunity at Williams, as the team heads in to the 2021 campaign aiming to move off the bottom of the constructors' championship table.
"I am really looking forward to joining Williams Racing, as they begin an exciting journey to turn their performance around," he said.
"It's going to be a great challenge, but one that I am eager to start. They have a great team of talented people, and I hope I can work with them and the senior management team to help carve out a direction for the future, to help the team achieve its ambitions."
Share Or Save This Story
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Guenther Steiner calls out Williams over F1 infrastructure complaints: "Crocodile tears"
Williams’ long-awaited F1 upgrade is delivering in Baku – but was Q3 an “overachievement”?
How Fernando Alonso scored ninth at Zandvoort - and how Alex Albon lost a similar payday
Thomas Annunziata wins ARCA title on tiebreaker after clashing with teammate Bollman
Oscar Piastri: I need a tow bar to hook onto Mercedes to fight for Baku win
Carson Hocevar, Ryan Blaney trade niceties a week after Bristol fight
"We are going to FIA": Grasser appeal rejected - no DTM champion at finale?
How George Russell claimed his career-best pole margin in F1 Azerbaijan GP qualifying
How the chase to catch Mercedes is unfolding
What we learned from Thursday practice at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP
A look at McLaren and Audi's Baku F1 updates
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments