The Chief Operating Officer of McLaren sets sail

Steve Hallam, director of operations at McLaren, will leave the team at the end of the year to join NASCAR.

He joined McLaren in 1990 after spending a decade with Lotus, where he designed the cars for Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna.

After contributing to Mika Häkkinen’s successes in 1998 and 1999, Hallam was appointed a senior official within the ‘Race Engineering’ department of the same Woking team.

McLaren F1’s CEO, Martin Whitmarsh, paid tribute to Hallam for his contribution to the team.

« Since he joined us in 1990, Steve has become a full-fledged member. As the chief of operations, he has done a fantastic job, » explained Whitmarsh.

« He informed us of his decision to leave McLaren some time ago, but since then he has remained just as professional in his manner. It goes without saying that we have great pleasure in working with him until the end of the season. »

« Next year, we will miss him a lot, but we still wish him all the best for the future. »

Hallam will take a position in the Nascar Sprint Cup series in 2009.