Dirk de Beer

Last updated

Dirk de Beer
Born
Dirk Laurie de Beer

(1963-06-02) 2 June 1963 (age 60)
Pretoria, South Africa
Nationality Flag of South Africa.svg South African
CitizenshipSouth African
Occupation Aerodynamicist
TitleHead of aerodynamics
PredecessorPete Machin

Dirk de Beer (born 2 June 1963) is a South African Formula One aerodynamicist. He was most recently the head of aerodynamics at the Alpine team until March 2024.

Contents

Biography

De Beer joined Renault in 2008, where he worked under Dino Toso until the latter was forced to stand down because of illness. [1] He was head of aerodynamics at the Enstone team from 2008 to 2013. He remained in his post as the team became Lotus F1 from 2012, working with technical directors Bob Bell and James Allison.

He left the British team in 2013 to take on the role of aerodynamics chief at Ferrari, following James Allison who had previously switched from Lotus to the Italian team. [2] De Beer then left Ferrari in 2016 and was replaced by David Sanchez after the departure of Allison.

He joined the Williams team in 2017, taking up the head of aero position as at the start of March. [3] At Williams, he worked alongside Dave Wheater, who was temporarily responsible for the team's aerodynamic performance after Jason Somerville's departure in late 2016. He started working for the British team on 1 March 2017. After a season start considered below expectations, the Williams team announced his resignation on 30 May 2018. [4]

In early November 2019, Renault announced that de Beer would replace Pete Machin as Head of Aerodynamics. [5]

He continued in the role when the Renault team was rebranded as Alpine in 2021. He resigned from Alpine in March 2024. [6]

Career timeline

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renault in Formula One</span> Formula One activities of Renault

Renault, a French automobile manufacturer, has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine to Formula One with its EF1 engine. In 1983, Renault began supplying engines to other teams. Although the Renault team had won races, it withdrew at the end of 1985. Renault engines continued to be raced until 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Symonds</span> British motorsport engineer (born 1953)

Patrick Bruce Reith Symonds is a British motor racing engineer. He 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. He is currently the Chief Technical Officer of Formula One. 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. After the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) conducted its own investigation, Symonds and Renault's Managing Director Flavio Briatore were banned indefinitely from any events sanctioned by the FIA, although this ban was later overturned by a French Tribunal de Grande Instance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Kubica</span> Polish racing and rally driver (born 1984)

Robert Józef Kubica is a Polish racing and rally driver, competing for AF Corse in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship. He previously competed for Team WRT where he won the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMP2 class. He was the first and so far holds a record as of 2023, for being the only Polish racing driver to compete and win a race in Formula One which was the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, making his latest appearance in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.

Loïc Bigois is a French Formula One aerodynamicist. He is currently the Head of Aerodynamic Operations at Scuderia Ferrari.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonia Terzi</span> Italian aerodynamicist (1971–2021)

Antonia Terzi was an Italian aerodynamicist who worked for the Ferrari and Williams Formula One teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Formula One World Championship</span> 62nd season of the FIA Formula One World Championship

The 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 65th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. The original calendar for the 2011 Formula One World Championship consisted of twenty rounds, including the inaugural running of the Indian Grand Prix before the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Pirelli returned to the sport as tyre supplier for all teams, taking over from Bridgestone, marking their return to Formula One for the first time since the 1991 season. Red Bull Racing was the reigning Constructors' Champion. Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel was the defending Drivers' Champion, one of five World Champions appearing on the grid. Vettel won his second World Championship at the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix, becoming the youngest driver, at 24 years and 98 days, to do so. Red Bull Racing won the Constructors' Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Fry</span> British motorsports engineer (born 1964)

Pat Fry is a British motorsports engineer. Primarily working in Formula One, he has previously held positions with the Benetton, McLaren, Ferrari, Manor Racing, and Renault/Alpine teams. As of 2023, Fry is the chief technical officer for Williams Grand Prix Engineering.

Dino Vittorio Marcellinus Toso was an Italian-Dutch engineer who worked as the Renault Formula One team's Director of Aerodynamics from 2003 until June 2008.

Jon Tomlinson is a British Formula One aerodynamicist, currently working in the position of Head of Aerodynamics at the Renault Sport Formula One Team, having previously worked for the Jordan, Lotus and Williams Formula One teams.

John Alastair Iley is a British motor racing aerodynamicist, who was formerly the technical director for the Caterham F1 team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus E20</span> Formula One racing car

The Lotus E20 is a Formula One racing car designed and produced by the Enstone-based Lotus F1 Team for the 2012 Formula One season. The chassis was designed by James Allison, Naoki Tokunaga, Martin Tolliday and Dirk de Beer with Renault continuing to supply engines. The E20 was the twentieth Formula One car to be designed at Enstone since 1992, and was named in tribute to the contribution made by the facility and its personnel in their twenty-year history. The car was also the first from Enstone to carry the Lotus name, since the team ceased using the Renault name following their renaming from Lotus Renault GP at the end of 2011. The car, which was launched by the team on its website on 5 February 2012, was driven by 2007 World Drivers' Champion Kimi Räikkönen and reigning GP2 Series champion Romain Grosjean, both of whom returned to Formula One after a two-year absence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Allison (motorsport)</span> English motorsport designer and engineer (born 1968)

James Allison is a British motorsport designer and engineer, best known for his accomplishments in Formula One, where he is the technical director of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renault R.S.19</span> Formula One racing car

The Renault R.S.19 is a Formula One racing car designed and constructed by the Renault F1 Team to compete during the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed by Nick Chester, Chris Cooney, Martin Tolliday, Simon Virrill and Pete Machin with Marcin Budkowski overseeing the design and production of the car as executive technical director and Rémi Taffin leading the powertrain design. The car was driven by Nico Hülkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo. The car made its competitive debut at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renault R.S.20</span> Renault F1 Teams 2020 Formula One racing car

The Renault R.S.20 is a Formula One car designed by the Renault F1 Team to compete in the 2020 Formula One World Championship.

Mike Elliott is a British Formula One aerodynamicist. He was the chief technical officer at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.

Jarrod Murphy is a British Formula One aerodynamicist. He is currently the aerodynamics director at the Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula One team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine F1 Team</span> French-owned Formula One racing team

Alpine F1 Team, or currently BWT Alpine F1 Team for sponsorship reasons, is the name under which the Enstone-based Formula One team has been competing since the start of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Formerly named Renault F1 Team and owned by the French automotive company Groupe Renault as well as Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, the team was rebranded for 2021 to promote Renault's sports car brand, Alpine, and continues to serve as Renault's works team. The chassis and managerial side of the team is based in Enstone, Oxfordshire, England, and the Renault-branded engine side of the team is based in Viry-Châtillon, a suburb of Paris, France. The team competes with a French licence.

Alan Permane is a British Formula One engineer. He is the former sporting director at the Alpine Formula One team.

Marcin Budkowski is a Polish Formula One engineer. He was notably the executive director of Alpine Formula One team.

David Sanchez is a French Formula One engineer, he is currently employed by McLaren F1 Team as their Technical Director of Car Concept and Performance.

References

  1. ↑ "Dino Toso Leaves Renault Team". Autosport. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  2. ↑ "Ferrari signs Lotus' head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer". Autosport. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  3. ↑ "Williams sign Dirk de Beer". Autosport. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "Williams' head of aero Dirk De Beer leaves team". ESPN. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "Renault F1 team signs de Beer as head of aero". Motorsport.com. November 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  6. ↑ "Alpine Facing Fresh Headache as F1 Technical Director and Head of Aero Resign". motorsport.com. 3 March 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.