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Eric Boullier resigns from McLaren

Published on 04 Jul 2018 22:11
6
By: Paul Athes

After four years spent at McLaren, Eric Boullier resigned from his racing director role. The Frenchman joined the Woking based team from Lotus in 2014 and was in charge of the sporting aspects of the team with both Honda and Renault. After a difficult collaboration with Honda, Boullier hoped for better results with Renault, but the results are far from expected.

The team recent struggles in Formula One combined with the tense atmosphere within the team were the main reasons behind Boullier resignation. Currently, McLaren sits sixth in the Constructors Championship, with 44 points scored in the first nine rounds of the 2018 Formula 1 World Championship.

"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. I want to wish everyone at McLaren the best for the remainder of the season and for the future." Boullier declared in an official press statement.

The news of Eric Boullier's resignation has brought a restructuration in the McLaren team management. Starting from the British Grand Prix, former ChampCar champion Gil de Ferran will replace Boullier. Recently, the former Brazilian driver was hired as consultant by McLaren's CEO Zak Brown.

"The performance of the MCL33 in 2018 has not met the expectations of anyone at McLaren, especially our loyal fans. 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." Brown declared in an official press statement.

"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." he added.

Paul Athes

F1 News Fernando Alonso Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren

Replies (6)

calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
Well, heads were bound to roll. Cant say I was pleased with the way Boullier handled the media side of things these last 2 years. But I dont think this will change much. The team is still in splinters, and rebuilding it will take some time.
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- Jul 4 2018 - 22:19
siggy74

Posts: 194
ow look had to send an email to get this uploaded,lol

Those freddo bars were just not enough ;P
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- Jul 4 2018 - 23:51
siggy74

Posts: 194
Alonso had some input with Zak brown and Gil De farran.

And now we have andrea stella ( Alonso`s ferrari engineer that came in 2015) taking control of the race side at track and de ferran the other.....
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- Jul 4 2018 - 23:55
RogerF1

Posts: 501
Do systemic and structural causes make up for a technically inferior car? No doubt everyone works their socks off but maybe there just aren’t enough smart, fresh ideas?
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- Jul 5 2018 - 00:08
f1ski

Posts: 726
With Renault and The honda engine there was a resistance to leave the concept of size zero concept. Its what had honda come in with the staged compressor turbo. Did mclaren let Honda know of the need for the turbo to have the torque to drive the alternator my guess is no. This year more of the same an adherence to a design that compromises the reliability of the power unit . He is part of the problem. Red bull with all their aero issues last year solved by mid season
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- Jul 5 2018 - 04:38
Bhurt

Posts: 320
This is not good. Not only does he look exactly like Frank Wolff, he now literally threw himself off the rocket to give the others a chance to live! Long live Eric Boullier; the Baghdad Bob of F1.

Let's hope Zak Brown is next.
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- Jul 5 2018 - 06:47