Suzuka: Renault have announced that they have signed former Formula One technical chief Marcin Budkowski as their new executive director, sparking a row over possible data leaks.
The move, confirmed before the Japanese Grand Prix, has triggered an angry backlash from rivals as he knows intimate details of the top teams from his previous role, which he left last week.
Renault said in a statement that Budkowski would “oversee all the activities in the development and production of the chassis”.
In his former position with the sport’s ruling FIA, the Pole was responsible for liaising with teams to guarantee the compliance of their cars.
FIA officials had said Budkowski would serve three months of gardening leave before being released from his contract, but opposing teams have blasted that time frame.
“There needs to be a proper element of garden leave before he takes all that knowledge to another team,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. “Three months is just crazy, for the top position it’s nuts.”
