Boullier exit start of McLaren restructure process, says Brown

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown has warned further organisation changes are set to be considered by the team following the resignation of racing director Eric Boullier.

The Woking-based team confirmed this morning that Boullier handed in his resignation to leave the squad with immediate effect just days before McLaren’s home race at Silverstone.

McLaren boss Brown has outlined a three-pronged replacement structure with Simon Roberts becoming McLaren’s chief operating officer, Andrea Stella in as performance director and Gil de Ferran taking up a new role as sporting director.

Brown has provided further detail on the ongoing McLaren restructuring but insists no ‘kneejerk reactions’ have been made.

“Our problems didn’t happen overnight nor will they be fixed overnight. I don’t want a kneejerk reaction to any situation,” Brown said following Boullier's departure. “If you look back to 2010 we had Mercedes as part-owner and one team principal then a CEO then a shareholder in then a shareholder out.

“For six or seven years we’ve been pretty destabilised and it is hard to move forward with constant change.

“This is the start of the process, we are far from finished, we need to be a faster, more nimble organisation that communicates better because I think we’ve got great talent here it is just not gelling like it needs to.”

Brown has indicated McLaren will look to promote inside its organisation as well as taking on ‘external resources’ as part of its changes and feels its ongoing problems triggered its poor performances in 2018.

After ditching Honda engines at the end of last year, McLaren claimed it had one of the best chassis on the F1 grid but this season the Woking-based squad has been thoroughly outperformed by both customer Renault team Red Bull and the works squad.

“We are too slow to react and need to simplify things within the organisation and need to operate like a race team, a much faster, we are a bit too slow and a bit too clunky,” he said. “Our ways of working need to change. We might have a race car problem but it is actually how we built the race car that is the problem.

“I think last year our chassis was good but I think we made a mistake with some of the statements and predictions we made which is always so dangerous. There are some things we would have done differently a year or two ago with our statements.”

Last month reports emerged of unrest within McLaren due to management decisions and motivation tactics, while in April Tim Goss was removed from his chief technical officer post.

McLaren currently sit sixth in the F1 world constructors' championship.