Ur Impressions: Poaching Other Teams' Aerodynamicists

[Hondanisti]

McLaren has recruited two significant additions to its aerodynamic department.

Nicolas Hennel de Beaupreau will join the Woking outfit from Renault, while Simon Lacey has been recruited from Honda.

Hennel, who has spent time with Ferrari, working alongside Rory Byrne between 2000 and 2002, began his F1 career Benetton. He will assume the role of Principal Aerodynamicist (MP4-22).

Meanwhile, insiders claim that Lacey's loss at Honda will be significant,..., he was the Japanese team's senior aerodynamicist. He joins McLaren as Chief Aerodynamicist.

Ron Dennis has made no secret of his determination to recruit proven talent, and there is no doubting the credentials of both Hennel and Lacey.

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_ ... t_id=29877

The loss of Prodromou and Tombazis with a 1 yr gap has been replaced with Hennel and Lacey at McLaren for the 2007 "push" to recover from a winless season.

Do you think :

Is this a "good enough" trade to bring the "aero ideas pool" back up to speed and winning ways for McLaren ?

Will McLaren wait to see what Newey does with the RB3 before they make their own move ?


How much will these exodus hurt Renault and Honda for 2007 ?

[West]

Well, F1 is just like any other sport (sort of). People will follow the money and the benefits wherever they see fit. I assume that that Honda's and Renault's cars have probably have 90% (a guess) of their aero design done before testing. Of course, they will probably miss them when the aero requires tweaking.

You never know, there could be a replacement that will exceed those that left.

[Rob W]

For sure... it's fine...

Do you think Alonso hasn't had meetings at McLaren to describe as best he could what the mass-damper looked/worked like?.. teams get info from all angles (and drivers are often one of the best). Ever see how closely MS looks at competitors cars on some occassions when they're next to each other in the top three?

Rob W

[DaveKillens]

Industrial espionage and the close scrutiny of competitors has been around F1 for a very long time. All teams know that any good idea will be quickly discovered and copied. It's only a matter of time. Many years ago the teams held tight security in the pits and garage, the cars would be protected behind barriers only to come out, circulate around the track, and then drive straight back into the garage, to be once again protected from prying eyes. When Colin Chapman came out with ground effects, Lotus did e verything they could to keep this secret hidden and unexplored.
Supply and demand. These days aero is so critical that teams go to great lengths to get the best aero package. Chief aerodynamicists are a precious commodity, and they get many good offers to join other teams.
But as soon as a team learns any member is leaving, they are immediately out of the loop, and placed in a position where they cannot learn anymore.
Employees have an obligation not to carry former employer's secrets to their new employer, but I'm sure that information does leak out. Then again, in the fast-paced world of F1, even info three months old may be invalid.