Allan McNish will become the Audi Formula 1 team’s racing director as part of a reorganisation triggered by the recent departure of Jonathan Wheatley.

McNish was already part of the Audi F1 organisation, running its driver development programme.

The sometime Toyota F1 driver achieved the majority of his sportscar racing success with Audi - including two of his three Le Mans 24 Hours - and also had a spell as its Formula E team boss.

“This is a marque that means a lot to me and it is an honour to be able to represent Audi and our partners on the most prestigious stage in motorsports,” said McNish, whose new role starts with immediate effect.

Audi F1 project head Mattia Binotto assumed team principal responsibilities too when Wheatley unexpectedly left in March.

But he admitted soon afterwards that “we need to reorganise ourselves” to “fill all the gaps” left by Wheatley - particularly at trackside during race weekend.

“There is so much to be done back at the factory, and that's where I'm most focusing myself,” Binotto told The Race in Japan last month.

“Having someone who can support here at the race weekend is important. We are not looking for a new team principal. It's more structuring ourselves to make sure that we have the right support.”

With McNish’s remit encompassing “oversight of sporting matters, engineering coordination, driver management, race strategy and garage operations, as well as on-track media and partner activities” according to Audi’s announcement, his promotion is clearly intended to fill those post-Wheatley gaps Binotto had identified.