Sporting Director Sam Michael to leave McLaren at the end of the season
Michael returning to his native Australia with his family
Wednesday 22 October 2014 13:41, UK
McLaren Sporting Director Sam Michael will leave the team at the end of the season after resigning earlier in the year.
A McLaren spokesman formally confirmed that Michael, who joined McLaren from Williams in 2011, handed in his notice to the team in March with the 43-year-old and his family to fulfil an ambition of returning to his native Australia after 20 years in F1.
Michael’s F1 career began with Lotus in 1993, before he joined Jordan and eventually moved on to Williams, where in 2004 he succeeded Patrick Head as the Grove outfit’s Technical Director.
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After quitting Williams mid-way through the 2011 campaign, Michael started work at McLaren in the November of that year with his role of Sporting Director seeing him responsible for race and test operations and driver programmes.
McLaren, however, have categorically dismissed speculation that two more senior figures at the team, Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Neale and Technical Director Tim Goss, are also leaving.
Neale also holds the role of Acting CEO following changes to the management structure at the team at the start of the year following Ron Dennis's return to the helm of the F1 operation.
