WOKING, England – The McLaren Formula One team has announced a restructuring of its leadership positions in the wake of the resignation of racing director Eric Boullier.

McLaren Chief Executive Zak Brown confirmed the news of Boullier’s departure on Wednesday, after Boullier had served in that capacity for four and a half years.

“I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the entire team to thank Eric for his service and contribution to McLaren and wish him well in his future endeavors,” said Brown. “These changes are the beginning of a comprehensive program of positive changes to the technical leadership of McLaren’s racing organization. We look to retain and attract the best talent, internally and externally, to return McLaren Racing to the front of the grid.”

“I am very proud to have worked with such a brilliant team over the past four years, but I recognise now is the right time for me to step down,” added Boullier. “I want to wish everyone at McLaren the best for the remainder of the season and for the future.”

Boullier moved from Lotus to McLaren prior to the start of the 2014 season, with the team’s lone podium finish under his leadership coming in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix that year.

As part of the restructuring of McLaren’s technical leadership personnel, McLaren COO Simon Roberts will oversee production, engineering and logistics, while Andrea Stella becomes the team’s Performance Director and will be responsible for trackside operations.

Former Indianapolis 500 and CART champion Gil de Ferran, who served in F-1 as the BAR-Honda Sports Director from 2005 to 2007, will become McLaren’s Sporting Director and work to maximize the effectiveness of the team’s racing package.

Through nine grands prix this season, the team has scored just 44 total points, placing them sixth in the Constructor’s Championship, and has nine top-10 finishes, six of them coming with lead driver Fernando Alonso.

Brown acknowledged in his remarks that the team’s current performance level has not met their goals.

“The performance of the MCL33 in 2018 has not met the expectations of anyone at McLaren, especially our loyal fans,” said Brown. “This is not the fault of the hundreds of committed and hard-working men and women at McLaren. The causes are systemic and structural, which require major change from within.

“With today’s announcement, we are beginning to address those issues head-on and take the first step on our road to recovery.”

Boullier’s departure from McLaren follows that of chief technical officer Tim Goss, who stepped down in April.