Williams F1 Chief Technical Officer Pat Symonds will leave the Grove based team at the end of the year.

After joining Williams in 2013, the team finished 3rd in the constructors standings in 2014 but have since slipped down to 5th behind Force India.

Williams confirmed on Tuesday that Symonds will officially step down from his role at the end of 2016. This now makes way for Paddy Lowe to join Williams after it has been reported that he is set to leave Mercedes.

“Pat has been a tremendous asset to this team over the past three years,” said Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams in a statement.

“Pat’s appointment was the start of a major restructuring exercise, and he has been pivotal in reshaping Williams into what is a much stronger racing team today.

“I would like to thank him for all of his hard work and commitment during that time. We now look to the future and will be announcing details regarding the team’s technical leadership in due course.”