Aston Martin snaps up McLaren’s former chief test driver

McLaren’s former chief test driver has joined fellow British manufacturer Aston Martin, and is expected to play a key role in the development of the new Valkyrie hypercar.

Chris Goodwin played an important role in the development of the McLaren P1, and has also spent time behind the wheel of the new Senna and the upcoming BP23 ‘hyper-GT’.

Goodwin joins Aston Martin as its expert high performance test driver – a suitable title considering the scale of the Valkyrie project.

The new hypercar is being co-developed by Red Bull Racing and features a Cosworth-developed 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 and an F1-style KERS system to develop more than 1,100bhp. It is expected to arrive on UK roads in 2019.

Also joining the Aston Martin team is Simone Rizzuto, formerly responsible for vehicle performance testing and integration at Maserati and Alfa Romeo.

Both Rizzuto and Goodwin will also play a role in the development of future Aston Martin production vehicles, such as the DBX SUV, a new mid-engined supercar and future electric and hybrid models.

Andy Palmer, Aston Martin chief executive, said of Goodwin and Rizzuto’s appointments: “I’m thrilled to have people of Chris and Simone’s calibre join Aston Martin’s already stellar engineering and dynamics team.

“Their decision is a great endorsement of our future plans while the skills and experience they bring is second to none.

“As we enter the next crucial phase in the development of our growing product and powertrain portfolios they will make an invaluable contribution in shaping an exceptional new family of Aston Martin models.”