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Renault ropes in longtime Mercedes design head

Renault Formula 1 Team announced the hiring of Matthew Harman in its Design Team to further strengthen the capacity of the French manufacturer in the bid to return to the top spot of the championship in the future.

Harman will start his work with Renault from September 1, 2018 as a Deputy Chief Designer and will assist Chief Designer Martin Tolliday in the design of the future F1 cars of the outfit.

Upon the announcement, Renault Sport’s Managing Director, Cyril Abiteboul said:”Over the past three years Bob Bell has been leading the charge for the team to reinforce its technical line-up.

“We are delighted to have attracted someone of Matthew’s calibre to enable the team to anticipate on the design cycle of future cars, a crucial benefit, something we are currently missing since the team’s acquisition and that will become even more important with the upcoming changes planned for 2021.”

Harman joins the French manufacturer after spending 17 long years with Mercedes F1 team in various capacities. Most recently he worked as the Head of Powertrain Integration and Transmission Design.

Renault has made some strides in the 2018 season as it sits a comfortable fourth with 56 points in the constructors’ standings – 14 ahead of McLaren – courtesy Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz’s consistent point scoring run.