Mercedes is still looking for a position for Paddy Lowe
If Paddy Lowe has announced his intention to leave McLaren at the end of the 2013 season and has been relieved of his duties as technical director, Toto Wolff states that it is still too early to talk about his arrival at Mercedes. In the meantime, McLaren is looking for a role where Lowe could continue to contribute to the team until the end of his contract.
After seeing Lewis Hamilton leave for Mercedes after 6 years of fruitful collaboration, the McLaren team is likely to see Paddy Lowe follow the same path at the end of the current season. However, although the departure of McLaren’s former technical director has indeed been confirmed, according to Toto Wolff, head of motorsport at Mercedes, his arrival in Brackley is not yet on the agenda: « I think it’s still too early to say if he will come [to Mercedes], » the Austrian told ESPN. « It’s not just a matter of hiring someone and moving on; there are ongoing discussions. Paddy is obviously a great person, and it’s about finding him a place in the organization, so nothing is done yet. »
The German team indeed has a plethora of staff at its helm, including Bob Bell, Aldo Costa, and Geoff Willis. From the first rumors of his departure from McLaren, Paddy Lowe’s arrival at Mercedes seemed linked to the departure of Ross Brawn, the current team manager. However, Mercedes insists that Ross Brawn remains and will remain the team manager, and Toto Wolff acknowledges that it does cause him some headaches: « Obviously, this situation is not perfect, but we have discussed it and said that Ross is managing the team and that it will remain so. We have not yet started the 2013 season, we have good working relationships, and we have a good spirit within the team. Paddy Lowe’s arrival is so far off that it doesn’t make sense to talk about it for today. »
Indeed, there is no rush since even though Paddy Lowe has announced his departure from McLaren, it will only be effective at the end of the season, at the expiry date of his contract. The British engineer, due to the strategic nature of the functions he has held until now, has already been replaced by Tim Goss as head of McLaren’s technical department, but Martin Whitmarsh hopes to find a position that will allow Paddy Lowe to help the team by leveraging his skills: « I met with Paddy on Thursday and we had a discussion then I had to leave for Australia, but I will speak with him soon. There are quite a few areas where this year’s regulations will no longer apply after, so I hope we can involve him in some of these challenges. »
