Jost Capito leaves Williams

Capito was seen as the great hope of Williams, brought in following the team’s purchase by Dorilton Capital in mid 2020. He joined with the success of Volkswagen’s WRC programme and the experience of leading the marque’s R road car division to his merit and brought Demaison – among other personnel from his time at VW – over with him. 

Capito’s standing in the motorsport world had led some to believe he could be the key to reviving Williams, which finished 10th in the 2020 Constructors Championship without scoring a single point. Under his leadership, the team improved on this with an eighth-place constructors’ championship position in 2021 including an unlikely – and controversial – podium at that year’s Belgian Grand Prix. But Williams has endured a tough start to F1's new ground effect era, placing plumb last once again in 2022.

The team’s turnaround was always going to take time, however, and Capito leaves in the belief that he’s got the ball rolling. 

"It has been a huge privilege to lead Williams Racing for the last two seasons and to lay the foundations for the turnaround of this great team,” he said in his exit statement. “I look forward to watching the team as it continues on its path to future success."

Capito had in fact planned on retiring before joining Williams, so while a move to another team isn’t entirely out of the question (what is?), it’s more likely he’ll be taking a step back. 

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images