David Sanchez (engineer)

After graduating from the École nationale supérieure de mécanique et d'aérotechnique Sanchez started his motorsport career working as an aerodynamicist for the Renault F1 team as a junior aerodynamicist in 2005.[3] He moved to McLaren Racing in 2007 initially as a senior aerodynamicist before progressing onto becoming an aerodynamics team leader being a part of the team that developed the innovative F-Duct seen in the McLaren MP4-25.[2] Seeking a new challenge Sanchez decided to join Ferrari in October 2012 as a Principle Aerodynamicist, later replacing the departing Dirk de Beer as chief aerodynamicist in 2016 before heading up the entire department in 2019.[4] In 2021 Sanchez was promoted again to Chief Engineer, Vehicle Concept leading the design and development of the 2022 Ferrari car.[5]

Sanchez left Ferrari in March 2023 and entered a period of gardening leave. Sanchez is slated to return to McLaren as technical director of car concept and performance, effective 2024, replacing James Key.[6]