Former Lewis Hamilton engineer signs up for Man Utd in surprise career move

Michael Sansoni, Lewis Hamilton’s former performance engineer at the Mercedes F1 team, has joined Manchester United as the club’s director of data.

Sansoni spent more than a decade at Mercedes, rising to the role of Hamilton’s trackside performance engineer in January 2023.

Former Lewis Hamilton engineer joins Man Utd from Mercedes

He left Mercedes in April with Manchester United – the historic football club in which INEOS founder and one-third Mercedes F1 team owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired a minor shareholding in February 2024 – recently confirming his arrival as the club’s director of data.

Ratcliffe has been attempting to turn Manchester United’s fortunes around after a lean period following the retirement of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.

The club recorded their worst-ever Premier League finish last season, Ratcliffe’s first full campaign in charge of football operations at Old Trafford, finishing 16th out of 20.

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A Manchester United statement confirming Sansoni’s arrival read: “Mike Sansoni has joined as director of data, following 11 years with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team, where he was most recently senior performance engineer and contributed to eight world championship-winning seasons.

“Reporting to Omar Berrada, chief executive, Sansoni will be responsible for transforming the club’s capabilities in data and artificial intelligence, drawing on his experience in machine learning and advanced modelling in Formula 1.

“He has been tasked with establishing Manchester United as a data-led organisation, embedding predictive and AI-driven decision-making across football and the wider club.

“To support these objectives, further recruitment is planned into a number of data, software and platform engineering roles in the coming months, as Sansoni builds out his team.”

In a post on his personal LinkedIn profile, Sansoni appeared to suggest that two of the club’s summer signings – Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford – were brought to Old Trafford as a direct result of his “early work” behind the scenes.

He wrote: “I’m incredibly proud to have joined Manchester United as Director of Data, reporting into our CEO Omar Berrada.

“I’m very lucky to have had not just one, but two dream jobs. After a phenomenal time in Formula 1, it’s a privilege to now be part of the biggest club in world football.

“Over the past few months, we’ve already made meaningful progress.

“With new methodologies starting to take shape and two fantastic signings, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, already reflecting some of that early work.

“I’ve inherited a brilliant team: smart, committed, and hungry to make a difference and together we’re building a world-class data and AI function to power decision-making across football and the wider club.

“The challenge is great, but so is the opportunity.

“Thanks to everyone at United who’s made me feel so welcome. It’s an honour to be here.”

In a previous post earlier this summer, Sansoni bid farewell to Mercedes following what appeared to be a TPC [Testing of Previous Car] outing after playing a role in eight World Championship triumphs.

He said: “After 11 unforgettable years and eight world championships with Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team this month marked my final day with the team.

“Fittingly, it ended at the racetrack — race engineering George Kurtz, Gerhard Watzinger and Valtteri Bottas, six years after my first time in that role with Esteban Ocon at the same circuit.

“I’ve been fortunate to work alongside and learn from the very best: Loic Serra, James Vowles, Shov [Andrew Shovlin], Bono [Peter Bonnington], and Riccardo Musconi have each pushed me technically and shaped how I approach engineering at the highest level.

“In terms of leadership, nobody sets a higher standard than Toto [Wolff].

“And as someone who grew up watching Formula 1, I could never have imagined I’d one day have the privilege of working with Lewis Hamilton, let alone contributing in the team’s success.

“It’s been an incredible journey – challenging, intense, and above all, a privilege to work alongside such a talented group of people.

“I’m hugely grateful for the experiences, the lessons, and the friendships built along the way.

“Thank you as well to everyone I’ve had the pleasure to work with and learn from over the years. It’s been a blast.”

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