Jost Capito: McLaren part company with F1 boss after five months

Jost Capito (centre) won three World Rally Championships with Volkswagen.

The man McLaren recruited to head their Formula 1 team has left just five months after joining.

German Jost Capito, 58, was appointed as chief executive officer of McLaren Racing by former boss Ron Dennis last year and started work in September.

But he has become a victim of McLaren's decision to split with Dennis.

A McLaren spokesman said: "Regrettably, we have not been able to find common ground on what is and will be needed to make the team successful again."

The McLaren spokesman added that Capito, the former head of Volkswagen Motorsport, had "a strong commitment to bringing success back to McLaren.

"He wanted to build again a winning team and fully focus on making the McLaren F1 car competitive, with the aim of winning World Championships in coming years."

Sources close to Capito say he had not been working day-to-day at the company since early December but had remained formally an employee. He has only recently agreed departure terms.

Dennis was put on gardening leave from his position as chief executive officer of McLaren Group in November.

The 69-year-old remains non-executive chairman and a 25% shareholder but has no active role running the company.