McLaren has announced a complete restructure to its racing operations following the resignation of racing director Eric Boullier with immediate effect.
The Frenchman joined the Woking-based outfit from Lotus back in 2014 under former McLaren chief executive Ron Dennis as part of an overhaul of senior management.
Boullier’s departure has led to a number of changes to the technical team. COO Simon Roberts will oversee production, engineering and logistics, with Andrea Stella now appointed performance director.
Former BAR and Honda sporting director and Indy 500 champion Gil de Ferran has been hired to take up a similar role to his previous guise.
“The performance of the MCL33 in 2018 has not met the expectations of anyone at McLaren, especially our loyal fans,” said chief executive Zak Brown in an official statement.
“This is not the fault of the hundreds of committed and hard-working men and women at McLaren.
“The causes are systemic and structural, which require major change from within. With today’s announcement, we start to address those issues head on and take the first step on our road to recovery.
“I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the entire team to thank Eric for his service and contribution to McLaren and wish him well in his future endeavours.”
Boullier admitted his decision is “the right time to step down” from his position that he has held for the last four years.
“I am very proud to have worked with such a brilliant team over the past four years, but I recognise now is the right time for me to step down,” he said.
“I want to wish everyone at McLaren the best for the remainder of the season and for the future.”
