Capito and McLaren officially part ways

Capito left his previous position as head of Volkwagen’s motorsport efforts to join McLaren and work alongside chiefs Eric Boullier and Jonathan Neale.

His first official race was at last year’s Italian Grand Prix and he was regularly seen in a prominent position in the team garage.

However, Capito’s future at the outfit was thrown into doubt when ally McLaren chairman Ron Dennis, who signed Capito as long ago as last January, was forced out of his role at the end of last year.

The signing of Zak Brown as McLaren’s new executive director prompted a chance for McLaren to evaluate its overall strategy, and Capito and the Woking-based outfit have agreed to go their separate ways.

A McLaren spokesman told Motorsport.com: “Jost Capito joined McLaren after four successful years at VW Motorsport, with a strong commitment to bringing success back to McLaren.

"He wanted to build again a winning team and fully focus on making the McLaren Formula 1 car competitive, with the aim of winning World Championships in coming years.

“Regrettably, we have not been able to find common ground with Jost with regard to what is and will be needed to make the team successful again.

"As a result, we have agreed that he will leave McLaren Racing and will now consider other opportunities. We wish him success in his future endeavours.”