Dirk Laurie de Beer (born 2 June 1963) is a South African

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

aerodynamicist. He was most recently the head of aerodynamics at the

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

team until March 2024.

Biography

De Beer joined

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

in 2008, where he worked under

Dino Toso Dino Vittorio Marcellinus Toso (11 February 1969 – 13 August 2008)

until the latter was forced to stand down because of illness. He was head of aerodynamics at the Enstone team from 2008 to 2013. He remained in his post as the team became

Lotus F1 Lotus F1 Team was a British Formula One racing team. The team competed under the Lotus name from until , following the renaming of the former Renault in Formula One, Renault team based at Enstone in Oxfordshire. The Lotus F1 Team was majority ...

from 2012, working with technical directors Bob Bell and

James Allison James Allison or Jim Allison may refer to: * James Allison (pirate) (fl. 1689–1691), pirate active near Cape Verde and the Bay of Campeche * James Allison Jr. (1772–1854), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania * James Wh ...

. He left the British team in 2013 to take on the role of aerodynamics chief at

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

, following James Allison who had previously switched from Lotus to the Italian team. De Beer then left Ferrari in 2016 and was replaced by David Sanchez after the departure of Allison. He joined the Williams team in 2017, taking up the head of aero position as at the start of March. At Williams, he worked alongside Dave Wheater, who was temporarily responsible for the team's aerodynamic performance after Jason Somerville's departure in late 2016. He started working for the British team on 1 March 2017. After a season start considered below expectations, the Williams team announced his resignation on 30 May 2018. In early November 2019, Renault announced that de Beer would replace Pete Machin as Head of Aerodynamics. He continued in the role when the Renault team was rebranded as Alpine in 2021. He resigned from Alpine in March 2024.

Career timeline

* Principal aerodynamicist –

Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG, currently competing in Formula One as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and also known simply as Kick Sauber or Sauber, is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who pro ...

(2002–2005) * Head of aerodynamics –

(2008–2011) * Head of aerodynamics –

(2012–2013) * Chief aerodynamicist –

(2013–2016) * Head of aerodynamics – Williams (2017–2018) * Head of aerodynamics –

(2019–2020) * Head of aerodynamics -

Alpine F1 Alpine F1 Team, currently racing as BWT Alpine F1 Team for sponsorship reasons, is the name under which the Enstone-based Formula One team has been competing since the start of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Formerly named Renault F1 ...

(2021-2024)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Beer, Dirk Aerodynamicists South African motorsport people White South African people Formula One engineers Ferrari people Renault people Living people 1963 births Williams Grand Prix Engineering People from Pretoria