DECEMBER 8, 2011

Caterham confirms Iley appointment

Team Lotus, which becomes Caterham F1 Team from next Wednesday, has confirmed the recruitment of McLaren's head of aerodynamics, John Iley, who starts with the team as Performance Director next June.

Team Lotus, which becomes Caterham F1 Team from next Wednesday, has confirmed the recruitment of McLaren's head of aerodynamics, John Iley, who starts with the team as Performance Director next June.

Iley will head up all aerodynamics, CFD and related activity and renews a partnership with chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne that saw the pair work together at both Jordan GP and Renault F1.

Iley started in motor racing with Brun Technics, a British design office working for the Eurobrun F1 team, and worked on the design of the Brun-Judd C91 sports car during 1990. He was hired to be the aerodynamicist on the Allard J2X sports car and then joined Jordan in 1995, where he became chief aerodynamicist under Gascoyne in '98. The pair moved on to Renault F1 in 2002.

Iley then joined Ferrari and finally McLaren, whose team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: "John greatly contributed to our aerodynamic capability but has taken the decision to accept an offer from Caterham for 2012 and beyond. We enjoyed working with John and wish him well."

Caterham Group CEO, Riad Asmat, added: "We are absolutely delighted that John has taken up the challenge to help take us to the next level on and off track in one of the key areas of performance in Formula 1. It is a real sign of our growth and development as a serious contender for long-term honours that we can attract someone of John's calibre."