Mark Smith becomes technical director of Sauber
Without a team since his departure from Caterham, Mark Smith will return to the F1 paddock as he has just been appointed technical director at Sauber.
The British engineer Mark Smith had decided to leave Caterham when the sale by Tony Fernandes became increasingly certain. He therefore spent almost a full year away from F1, as this sale took place just before the British Grand Prix.
He will now discover Sauber’s facilities, which are top-notch thanks to the period under BMW’s control, as he readily acknowledges: « When I saw the premises in Hinwil for the first time, I immediately saw the possibilities I would have. The wind tunnel, the supercomputer, the machine workshop: everything is of a very high technical standard. Not to mention the team’s expertise. That’s what drove me to make the change and come to Hinwil. »
Sauber will therefore be able to take advantage of his extensive F1 experience since he has already held this position at Jordan (2004-2005), Red Bull (2005-2008), Force India (2010-2011) and thus Caterham (2011-2014). These different employers also have the particularity of being independent teams, with real budgetary constraints. This is what attracted Monisha Kaltenborn, the team director: “Above all, he knows the environment in which private teams must work, the difficulties there are, and how important it is to stay calm and put things into perspective.”
He will officially take office on July 13th.
With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr
