Renault recruit Wickham to join front-rank F1 teams

Renault stepped up their bid to join the front-rank F1 teams this weekend with confirmation that they have appointed Briton John Wickham as their new team manager. In a reshuffle that has also seen highly-rated chief race engineer and fellow-Briton Alan Permane take a more senior role, team chief Eric Boulllier said the revamp of senior staff was another step towards the top. The reshuffle followed the resignation of former sporting director Steve Nielsen after Wickham had performed an efficiency study of the team. Boullier said: "I think it is just another step in maybe bringing some new ideas and to go for the next step where I want the team to be. "For what I want to achieve with the team, John has a great experience of where I want his job to be. It is not about replacing a sporting director, it is more splitting responsibilities. "Alan Permane will have more responsibilities on the sporting side, and I need more focus on the race team itself."