McLaren chief resigns after Freddo-gate

ERIC BoullIeR has been forced to resign from his £1million-ayear job as Mclaren’s racing director after a woeful start to the season.

The Frenchman’s departure four days before the British Grand Prix at Silverstone was announced by chief executive Zak Brown, who finally acknowledged what he had long publicly denied — namely that the country’s most successful Formula one team needs root-andbranch reform.

Boullier’s position became increasingly untenable after a series of

Sportsmail revelations that disgruntled staff were considering strike action in protest at the management’s failure to address deep performance concerns.

This newspaper’s disclosure that factory workers were being paid bonuses in the form of 25p Freddo chocolate bars shone a light on a wider problem of low morale brought about by a winless streak stretching back to 2012. But the die was cast before then.

Brown had already grown angry at his colleague’s failure to accept responsibility for the car’s lack of pace. As one insider put it, Boullier had ‘lost the dressing room’ with his buckpassing excuses.

Although Boullier, 44, technically resigned — Brown said he accepted the offer on Tuesday — he had no real choice in the matter.

Brown, an American businessman who came in at the end of 2016, said: ‘The car has not met the expectations of anyone at Mclaren, especially our loyal fans. This is not the fault of the hundreds of committed and hard-working men and women at Mclaren. The causes are systemic and structural, and require major change from within.’

Brown is now likely to be given breathing space by shareholders to prove he can lead the revival — a long job that requires putting the right people into key positions.

Brown has brought in Indianapolis 500 winner Gil de Ferran as sporting director. Simon Roberts, chief operating officer, will oversee production, engineering and logistics. Italian Andrea Stella is promoted to performance director, responsible for trackside operations.

Brown told that he intends to keep hold of star driver Fernando Alonso.