Capito left Volkswagen for McLaren in September 2016; But 58-year-old leaves after failing to find "common ground" with team
Tuesday 7 February 2017 10:31, UK
Jost Capito has officially left his post as McLaren's chief executive as the Woking team's restructure continues.
The 58-year-old only started working for McLaren in September due to his commitments with Volkswagen Motorsport in the World Rally Championship, having been recruited by then-chairman Ron Dennis.
But Dennis' departure coupled with Zak Brown's arrival as executive director at the end of last season put Capito's role under threat, and his exit has now been confirmed by McLaren.
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"Jost Capito joined McLaren after four successful years at VW Motorsport, with a strong commitment to bringing success back to McLaren," a McLaren team spokesman said.
"He wanted to build again a winning team and fully focus on making the McLaren Formula 1 car competitive, with the aim of winning World Championships in coming years.
"Regrettably, we have not been able to find common ground with Jost with regard to what is and will be needed to make the team successful again.
"As a result, we have agreed that he will leave McLaren Racing and will now consider other opportunities. We wish him success in his future endeavours."
Capito was signed by McLaren and Dennis in January 2016 but wasn't spotted in team kit until the Italian GP after finishing his work with Volkswagen in WRC.
The German was a regular fixture in the paddock for the rest of the season, but was thought to be on his way out after Dennis was ousted in November.
