1. Patrick Bruce Reith Symonds was born on 11 June 1953 and is a British motor racing engineer, who is currently the executive engineering consultant for the Andretti Cadillac F1 program.
19 Facts About Pat Symonds
1. 2.
Pat Symonds was the Chief Technical Officer at Williams Grand Prix Engineering from 2013 until 2016, having previously worked at the Benetton, Renault and Virgin Formula One teams.
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In September 2009, Symonds was forced to resign from the ING Renault F1 team due to his involvement in race fixing at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
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Pat Symonds was born in Bedford, England and educated at Gresham's School in Holt, Norfolk, after which he studied at Oxford Polytechnic and Cranfield University, where he gained a Masters in aerodynamics.
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Pat Symonds remained throughout this entire period with the team, working his way through the technical ranks.
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Pat Symonds served as an engineer for many of the team's drivers, including Alessandro Nannini and Teo Fabi.
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Pat Symonds remained with Benetton when Schumacher departed to Ferrari in 1996.
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When Ross Brawn was lured to Ferrari, Pat Symonds became Benetton's Technical Director.
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When Mike Gascoyne joined the team in 2001, Pat Symonds was promoted to executive director of Engineering, a post which he retained though the transition to Renault ownership in 2002.
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The ING Renault F1 Team released a statement on 16 September 2009 stating that Pat Symonds was no longer part of the team.
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Pat Symonds was suspended from F1 events for five years after expressing his "eternal regret and shame" to the FIA World Motor Sport Council.
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In 2011, Pat Symonds returned to F1 as a consultant for the Virgin Racing team to conduct a thorough overview of its operation, following a disappointing start to its second season in the sport.
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Pat Symonds is believed by many to have effectively taken Wirth's place, although he was still only a consultant due to the terms of his ban.
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Pat Symonds had a column in the F1 Racing magazine, and serves on the committee for the MSc in Motorsport Engineering and Management at Cranfield University.
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In July 2013 it was announced that Pat Symonds had been appointed as Chief Technical Officer for the Williams F1 Team, replacing Mike Coughlan.
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Williams confirmed in December 2016 that Pat Symonds would be leaving upon the expiration of his contract at the end of the year.
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In March 2017, it was announced that Pat Symonds was to join the Sky F1 team.
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Pat Symonds served as Formula 1's Chief Technical Officer from March 2017 until May 2024.
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In May 2024 it was publicly announced that Pat Symonds had signed onto Andretti Global's Formula One bid, to be known as Cadillac Formula One Team, serving as the executive engineering consultant for its planned entry in 2026.