It has been confirmed that Williams technical director Pat Symonds will leave the team at the end of this year.
Symonds joined Williams on a three-year deal at the end of 2013 and is set to depart when that contract expires on December 31, 2016. Under his technical direction, Williams has returned to the front half of the grid and finished third in the constructors' championship in 2014 and 2015 before slipping to fifth this year.
Mercedes technical boss Paddy Lowe has been linked to a top job at Williams next season and Symonds' departure could be the first concrete sign that the deal is going ahead.
"Pat has been a tremendous asset to this team over the past three years," deputy team principal Claire Williams said. "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 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."
Symonds joined the team from Virgin Racing in 2013, which was his first job back in Formula One following his involvement in the Renault Crashgate scandal in 2008. In 2009 Symonds was suspended from working in the sport by the FIA for his role in the incident, but the ban was overturned the following year and Symonds was paid compensation.
Earlier in his career, Symonds had been one of the key Renault personnel behind Fernando Alonso's championship successes in 2005 and 2006 as well as Michael Schumacher's title victories a decade earlier in 1994 and 1995 when the team was running under the Benetton name.