In April Willy Rampf will stand down after 10 years as Technical Director of Sauber. The 56-year-old German will hand over the job to 38-year-old James Key, who has been recruited from Force India.
“When you’re Technical Director of a Formula 1 team, the job comes first and everything else is subordinate to it,” said Rampf. “I have done my job with a passion for 10 years, but now it’s time to hand over the baton. Peter Sauber gave me the chance to enter this league of motor sport and I greatly value all my years spent working with the team.”
Rampf’s desire to step down from the job is fairly well known.
“I have known about Willy’s plans for some time, of course,” says Peter Sauber. “And I fully understand his decision. He has
achieved great things for our team. I had managed to get him on board as race engineer for season 1994. Then in 1998 he temporarily left the team to pursue his Paris-Dakar Rallye dream and ran BMW’s motorcycle involvement – a successful interlude, as we know. In 1999 he returned to the fold with the clear aim of becoming Technical Director. It was practically his first Formula One car that was out on the grid in 2001, and we finished fourth in the Constructors’ Championship as a privately-run team. We have Willy to thank for a great deal.”
Key is of a completely new generation.
“Despite his young age, James looks back on more than a decade of experience in Formula 1,” Sauber said. “The 2009 car in particular proved quite a revelation. James comes from a private team and knows how to work around a limited budget. With us he will enjoy high-level technical opportunities.”
Rampf and Key will spend the month of April going through a handing over process at Hinwil.
“The first time I saw the facilities in Hinwil, I knew straight away the kind of opportunities open to me,” says Key. “The wind tunnel, the supercomputer, the machine park and the expertise of the team were extremely persuasive. There is significant potential at Sauber, and with the ever-changing world of F1 I think the team is very well placed at present. I am grateful to my old team for the past 12 years I spent with them, but now I very much look forward to starting my new job. I would like
to thank Peter Sauber and the team for this great opportunity.”
A graduate in menchanical engineering from Nottingham University, Key worked for two years at Lotus, as a designer on a GT programme, before he joined Jordan Grand Prix in 1998. He moved up through the company and became Technical Director in 2005, at the age of just 33. He has retained this position during the Midland, Spyker and Force India periods.
Key fits at BMW Sauber.
Key to unlock potential of new BMW Sauber.
A very strong acquisition. I hope that Sauber can continue long-term, as BMW has given the present team an infrastructure which can certainly be capitalised-upon.