Williams appoints former Mercedes engineer Dan Milner as Chief of Vehicle Technology

Williams strengthens technical leadership

Williams has bolstered its senior leadership team with the appointment of former Mercedes engineer Dan Milner as chief engineer of vehicle technology, a role that will see him oversee the team’s car development programmes.

A career spanning Brackley’s modern eras

Milner’s career at Brackley stretches back two decades, covering the team’s time as Honda, Brawn, and later Mercedes. Over that period, he held a series of senior technical roles across multiple departments.

Milner has been on gardening leave since January and will now begin work at Williams under technical director Matt Harman and chief technical officer Pat Fry.

Beyond Formula 1, he also spent time in a senior design role with the Ineos Britannia outfit in America’s Cup competition, further broadening his high-performance engineering experience.

“The right moment” for a new challenge

Speaking about his move, Milner said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Williams as chief engineer across vehicle technology.

After 20 years of association with Brackley, it’s the right moment to take on a new challenge. Williams has a clear, ambitious plan to move forward, and I’m looking forward to bringing my experience and knowledge to help accelerate that journey.

I can’t wait to meet the team, learn the organisation and get to work converting ideas into performance on track.”

Williams technical director Matt Harman underlined the strategic weight of the appointment.

“Dan brings broad experience and clear leadership. He has led major programmes across R&D and powertrains, turning ideas into performance, and he knows how to bring teams together to deliver.

Dan will be central to our vehicle technology plan and to converting innovation into consistent performance gains on track, so we’re thrilled to have him on board as we continue our plans of bringing Williams back to the front of the grid.”

With Milner embedded within its technical leadership, Williams is reinforcing its commitment to structured development and performance-led engineering — a move the team hopes will translate directly into measurable gains on track.