Hamilton reunites with driving expert who left his team before 2021 season

Lewis Hamilton’s preparations for the new Formula 1 season have been boosted by the return of a significant figure in his management team.

Marc Hynes, who spent five years running Hamilton’s Project Forty Four company before moving on in February 2021, has returned to assist the seven-times world champion.

“Lewis is looking forward to the beginning of the new Formula 1 season and he will be working with Marc Hynes, his long term friend and former colleague who will be providing his expertise to assist Lewis on the track,” said a statement issued by Hamilton’s spokesperson. “Marc will be solely focussed on racing activities and supporting Lewis’s commitment to bringing the fight back to the top spot.”

Hamilton narrowly lost the world championship in controversial circumstances to Max Verstappen in 2021. Since then Mercedes have failed to replicate their past competitiveness and Hamilton has gone two years without a win.

His relationship with Hynes dates back to their time in the junior racing categories. Hynes won Britain’s Formula Renault championship in 1997, six years before Hamilton did the same. Both drove for Manor, who later entered F1, initially with Virgin and later Marussia branding.

In 1999 Hynes won the British Formula 3 title, the same year third-placed finished Jenson Button was hired by Williams to make a shock F1 debut the following season.

While Hynes was unable to gain a regular seat in higher single-seater series or win promotion to F1, he applied his talents to driver coaching and worked with several Manor F1 drivers including Max Chilton and Roberto Merhi. Hynes also raced in sportscars and the F1-supporting Porsche Supercup.

His return to Hamilton’s side comes as the world champion makes other changes to his management team. Penni Thow, who took over from Hynes, is no longer working with Hamilton.

“The management agreement between Penni Thow and her company Copper with Lewis Hamilton came to its natural end in December 2023, after the expiry of a fixed term,” the spokesperson added.

“Over the course of the partnership, Penni and her team have supported Lewis’s entrepreneurial vision and together they have launched several exciting ventures. While the management agreement has ended, Copper will remain working with Lewis on some of these joint projects to ensure their continued development and success.

“Over the coming months Lewis will be expanding his company Project Forty Four, which was set up in 2014, and will be making exciting appointments and announcements as he continues to grow his entrepreneurial business and investment interests.”

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Formula 1

• Pictures: New views of McLaren MCL38 seen in testing
• Pictures: Red Bull’s aggressive new sidepod design revealed in detail at test
• Pictures: New views of Mercedes W15 running in Bahrain test
• Pictures: 2024 F1 pre-season testing day one: Bahrain
• Pictures: Haas VF-24 officially presented as testing begins in Bahrain

Browse all Formula 1 articles