McLaren has now confirmed the departure of Jost Capito.
Just four months after he started work, it emerged before Christmas that the 58-year-old German - who had left VW to be McLaren’s new CEO - was in fact now leaving McLaren.
The news came amid a period of upheaval for the beleaguered British team, whose supremo Ron Dennis was ousted at the end of a bitter shareholders dispute.
Indeed, it has emerged that McLaren will drop the iconic "MP4" - which for decades had referred to Dennis’ ’Project 4’ organisation - from its car name for 2017.
And now, Italy’s Corriere della Sera confirms that Capito has in fact left the team.
A team spokesman told GMM: "Regrettably, we have not been able to find common ground with Jost with regard to what is and will be needed to make the team successful again.
"As a result, we have agreed that he will leave McLaren Racing and will now consider other opportunities. We wish him success in his future endeavours."