DECEMBER 18, 2006

Purnell joins the FIA

Tony Purnell, the former team principal of the Jaguar Racing and Red Bull Racing Formula 1 teams, has been appointed as a Technical Consultant to the FIA. Purnell's main role will be to assist the FIA in developing Formula 1 technologies that will be road-relevant and which will help to improve the racing on the track. Working closely with FIA Technical Consultant Peter Wright and Head of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Department Charlie Whiting, Purnell will liaise with manufacturers, oil companies and key universities to identify the latest trends in vehicle technology developments.

Purnell has a strong academic and professional background in engineering and motor sport. After studying Mechanical Engineering at Manchester University, he won the Kennedy Scholarship at MIT where he completed his Masters Degree. His dissertation was on the subject of Formula 1 aerodynamics. This was followed with a period of research at Cambridge University, where he began work on wind tunnel analysis software. He later founded Pi Research and by the late 1990s had built the company into a highly successful global electronics business.

He sold the firm to Ford in 1999 and was then appointed to head Ford's Premiere Performance Division, a role which was followed by his senior positions in Formula 1.