Jost Capito replaces Jonathan Neale at the head of McLaren

During the reorganization implemented by Ron Dennis at the beginning of the 2014 season, Jonathan Neale had become interim CEO of McLaren Racing. Two years later, the situation will thus be made permanent with the arrival of Jost Capito, coming from Volkswagen Motorsport.

The change of position is above all a promotion for Jonathan Neale, who will extend his responsibilities to all of McLaren’s activities and not just motorsports, as Ron Dennis explains: « In line with McLaren Technology’s continuous growth strategy, Jonathan has been promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer. He has done an excellent job as interim CEO of McLaren Racing. This experience, combined with his expertise developed in industries outside of motorsports, makes him ideally positioned for such an important role at McLaren Technology Group. »

To replace him, McLaren managed to bring in a heavyweight from the motorsports world. Indeed, Jost Capito remains with three successive world champion titles in WRC. The CEO of the Woking group approached him as early as last summer, even before the Volkswagen scandal. Jost Capito will thus make his return to F1, after a first stint at Sauber: « I started approaching Jost last summer. He is extremely impressive, competitive, and ambitious and joins us with extensive experience in both the automotive industry and motorsports. »

If he is going to arrive during the year, he will become the direct superior of Eric Boullier, who will therefore retain his scope of activities unchanged.

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr