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Nikolas Tombazis
Nikolas Tombazis
Born	22 April 1968 (age 56); Athens, Greece
Nationality	Greek
Occupation	Single seater director of the FIA
Known for	Formula One car designer at Ferrari, McLaren, Benetton, and Manor.

Nikolas Tombazis (Greek: Νικόλαος Τομπάζης; born 22 April 1968 in) is a racing car designer who has worked in Formula One since 1992 for the Benetton, McLaren, and Ferrari teams.

Career

Born in Athens, Greece, Tombazis graduated with a degree in engineering in 1989 from Trinity College at Cambridge University, followed by a PhD in aeronautical engineering from Imperial College London in 1992. In November 1992, he became aerodynamicist at Benetton and was promoted to Head of Aerodynamics in 1994. Three years later, he moved to Ferrari, where he became head of aerodynamics and CFD in 1998.

In 2004, Tombazis returned to England to work with McLaren, where he started working in a similar position and later being promoted to Head of Planning. In March 2006, he was back at Ferrari, this time as chief designer. He left Ferrari on 16 December 2014.^[1]

On 15 January 2016, the Manor Racing team appointed Tombazis as its chief aerodynamicist.^[2] Following the closure of Manor, he set up his own consultancy, called MAA, and has been a visiting professor of aerodynamics for Imperial College London. In 2018, Tombazis joined the FIA as its head of single-seater technical matters.^[3]

In January 2023, Tombazis was placed in the role of single seater director before the 2023 Formula One season.^[4]

Positions held

1992–1993: Benetton Formula aerodynamicist
1993–1995: Benetton Formula chief aerodynamicist
1997: Scuderia Ferrari aerodynamicist
1998–2003: Scuderia Ferrari chief aerodynamicist
2004: McLaren chief aerodynamicist
2005: McLaren project chief director
2006–2014: Scuderia Ferrari chief designer
2016-2017: Manor F1 Team chief aerodynamicist
2018–2023: FIA head of single seater technical matters
2023–present: FIA single seater director

Personal life

Tombazis lived in Castelnuovo Rangone in the province of Modena, Italy, with his wife and four children. He then moved to Greece for three years. Following this period, the Tombazis family moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where he still resides, for his position at the FIA. He is the son of well-known Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis.