Gilles Simon (born 14 June 1958 in

Oujda Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

) is a French Formula One engineer and designer.

Career

Simon studied at the

École des Mines École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scal ...

, one of France's top engineering schools. He graduated in 1984 and joined the

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

team, where he worked in R&D for four years. He was then hired by

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

and worked on the marque's

V10 engine A V10 engine is a ten-cylinder piston engine where two banks of five cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V10 engines are much less common than V8 and V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder pis ...

, which would ultimately achieve success in their

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

effort in the early 1990s. In

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, Simon followed compatriot

Jean Todt Jean Todt (; born 25 February 1946) is a French motor racing executive and former rally co-driver. He was previously director of Peugeot Talbot Sport and then Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team principal, before being appointed chief executive offic ...

to Ferrari, assisting Paolo Martinelli in the Engine and Electronics Department. Following the Italian's move to an executive role within

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

, Simon took over as head of the department in October

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. Simon left his position in October 2009, and was replaced by

Luca Marmorini Luca Marmorini (born 17 June 1961) is the former head of the engine and electronics department at the Ferrari Formula One team. Marmorini started his Formula One career with Ferrari in , which he joined after completing a mechanical doctorate. He ...

. In December 2009, FIA President

revealed that Simon is to join a working group to investigate new energies and environmentally friendly technology in motorsport. In July 2011, Simon left his FIA role to join

Propulsion Universelle et Recuperation d'Energie Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived fr ...

(PURE), a new F1 engine supplier which aimed to enter the sport in . In 2013 Simon was hired as a consultant by

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

to work on their Formula One engine. He parted company with the Japanese marque in 2017.

References

*''Who is Gilles Simon?'
Grandprix.com article
retrieved October 28, 2006. 1958 births Living people Formula One engine engineers Ferrari people Honda people French motorsport people People from Oujda {{F1-bio-stub