Bottas closer to Mercedes move amid Williams shake-up
While technical head Symonds is set to leave Williams, the 27-year-old Finn looks set to join the Silver Arrows, paving the way for Massa to come out of retirement and stay another season with Williams
Formula One’s post-season shake-up has taken another spin with Williams announcing the departure of technical head Pat Symonds while Valtteri Bottas moved closer to Mercedes and Felipe Massa’s retirement looked to be coming to an end.
Williams said Symonds, 63, would be leaving them on December 31, the news coming amid speculation that Paddy Lowe is set to join them from dominant world champions Mercedes to take up a similar role.
Symonds, who worked with the late Brazilian great Ayrton Senna at Toleman in the 1980s and seven times champion Michael Schumacher at Benetton in the 1990s, joined Williams in 2013.
“Pat’s appointment was the start of a major restructuring exercise, and he has been pivotal in reshaping Williams into what is a much stronger racing team today,” deputy principal Claire Williams said.
“We now look to the future and will be announcing details regarding the team’s technical leadership in due course.”
