Company Restructures To Achieve Goal Of Podium In F1 Power Race
As a result of the increasing likelihood of a significant review of Formula One engine technical regulations in the near future, Cosworth Racing’s Technical Director Nick Hayes has decided that now is an appropriate time to hand over responsibility for redefining Cosworth’s position within Formula One to the next generation of engineers.
A veteran of Cosworth Racing and Formula One for twenty years, Hayes joined the company as a designer in the Formula One department in 1984. He rose through the ranks to the position of Technical Director with overall responsibility for all engineering within the company, including F1, WRC and Champ Cars. Now, this decision means that he takes time out from the stress and pressure of constant competition and development to consider new opportunities.
Naturally this presents an immense challenge to the team of young and extremely talented engineers currently working within Cosworth Racing, not only in terms of developing Cosworth’s own Formula One engines but also forming part of the engine advisory group to the FIA, a position thus far occupied by Hayes.
This group of engineers encompasses a new generation of thinking, a desire to break the image of Cosworth as a supplier of only customer engines in Formula One and demonstrate the company’s core values of reliability, performance, innovation and excellence. To establish a measurable target, it has set itself the goal of developing the most powerful and reliable Formula One engine in line with the new engine regulations, the benchmark against which all others will be measured.The Cosworth Racing Formula One department will effectively be split into two sub-divisions; Race Engineering and Future Engines, each reporting directly to the Board of Directors.
The Race Engineering team will concentrate on on-going track support, development and implementation and will be headed by Simon Corbyn, a veteran of the Cosworth Racing graduate program.
The Future Engines team will focus on developing engines to suit changing requirements, such as the recent introduction of the one-engine-per-weekend rule and likely specification changes, defined by the FIA in the near future. This department is headed by Alex Hitzinger, the man responsible for leading the team that developed the successful Ford Duratec R World Rally Championship engine.
