Mike Coughlan has been promoted to technical director, Williams chairman Adam Parr confirmed on Friday in India.
Coughlan, a former designer at McLaren until he was banned from the sport for his role in the 2007 spy-scandal, was hired by Williams earlier this year to work on the 2012 car under the title of chief engineer.
He will now be the teams technical director, which Parr confirmed in the FIA press conference.
“The new technical team consists of Mike Coughlan, who we have just confirmed as our new Technical Director,” he said. “Mike joined us in June.”
Coughlan replaces Sam Michael who will join McLaren at the end of the season.
