Overview
- Williams confirmed on Tuesday that Dr James Smith has been hired as its new chief information officer to lead the team’s data and AI work.
- Smith spent more than a decade at Google and DeepMind and co-founded Human Native AI, and his CV cites work on Android’s data platform used by thousands of engineers and billions of devices.
- Team principal James Vowles framed the appointment as a response to F1’s new technical battleground where the ability to harness data and AI across the organisation matters for results.
- Williams sits eighth in the early 2026 constructors standings after seven points from the first five rounds, a modest start the team says the new leadership and hires are meant to address.
- The hire follows several recent senior appointments at Williams and reflects a wider F1 trend of recruiting Big Tech and startup AI talent to build platforms, change team culture, and speed delivery of race-day tools that could influence strategy and car setup.