RLL Hires Veteran F1 Engineer as Technical Director

Stefano Sordo, who has more than 20 a long time of engineering practical experience with prime Components One particular groups, will be a part of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as the team’s NTT INDYCAR Sequence specialized director starting off Oct. 1, crew officials introduced Sept. 8.

Sordo spent the earlier six seasons with McLaren Racing F1 as head and director of vehicle performance. Just before that, he was with Crimson Bull Racing F1, among other teams. He will oversee a multitiered engineering framework at the team’s new headquarters in Zionsville, Indiana.

“I’m pretty fired up to be signing up for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s staff in the INDYCAR Series,” Sordo claimed. “It is a pretty difficult and pretty competitive collection where by I think every competitor can have a probability at winning each and every time they participate in a race, giving you get all the components correct.

“The pleasure of this new position for me is to obstacle myself and see if with the expertise and methodology developed via numerous several years used in F1 I can aid the workforce relocating ahead in getting to be a consistent, front-running group. This is the very clear obstacle and focus on that I established for myself, and I seem forward to acquiring started out. I would like to thank Bobby (Rahal) and Mike (Lanigan) for this option and their have confidence in in my capabilities, and I hope I can repay them with successes at the monitor.”

Sordo earned a grasp of science diploma in mechanical engineering from Polytechnic University in Milan, Italy. He began his experienced racing vocation as a structure and effectiveness engineer at Tatuus F3 in 1996.

In late 1996, he moved to DC Prepare dinner Motorsport’s F3 and F3000 crew as a race engineer for the 1997-98 seasons. He joined McLaren as a race engineer with their F3000 plan for 1999-2000 right before he bought his start in Components One with Arrows as a race and exam engineer for the 2001 and 2002 seasons. He then joined Jaguar Racing F1 for the 2003 and 2004 seasons as race engineer.

At the end of 2004, Jaguar Racing F1 grew to become Crimson Bull Racing F1, and he stayed on until 2016 functioning initially as race engineer and then moving into the aerodynamic division from 2007 for the subsequent 10 many years in the place of head of aerodynamic overall performance.

Although Sordo was at Crimson Bull, the crew gained four consecutive Motorists and Constructors championship titles with Sebastian Vettel concerning 2010-2013. He then joined McLaren F1 in Oct 2016 and has been head and then director of the vehicle general performance division until becoming a member of RLL as specialized director.

“I’m so please that Stefano will be becoming a member of the group as technical director,” workforce co-operator Bobby Rahal claimed. “He is well respected in the field, and his keep track of file speaks for by itself acquiring labored with companies like McLaren and Purple Bull in Formulation One particular, between other people. I’m self-assured that Stefano will carry to us a point of view that will elevate our game from our competition and do the job nicely with our present engineering staff members.”

Reported co-operator Mike Lanigan: “Stefano has proven he is capable of major big teams of engineers at the top amount of motorsport, and we could not be a lot more delighted to have him sign up for our group. His depth of knowledge, put together with his know-how of the many spots to optimize the efficiency of a race vehicle, will be a remarkable asset to us likely forward.”

RLL fields 3 autos in the NTT INDYCAR Sequence this year, for veterans Graham Rahal and Jack Harvey, and Rookie of the Year factors leader Christian Lundgaard.