Latest News / Headline

Smith to become new Sauber technical director

01 Jul 2015

Sauber have appointed Mark Smith as their new technical director. The 54-year old Briton, who has previously filled the same role at teams including Caterham, Force India and Red Bull, will start work at the Swiss squad’s Hinwil headquarters on July 13.

Smith will fit into Sauber’s existing technical committee structure, which consists of the heads of car performance, aerodynamics and the design groups. He will also take responsibility for overlapping tasks, as well as leaving members of the committee the space to fully focus on their working areas.

“When I saw the facilities for the first time in Hinwil I immediately realised the possibilities I would have,” said Smith. “The wind tunnel, the supercomputer and the machine shop - everything is on a very high technical level. And not to forget the competence of the team.

“These facts were compelling reasons and arguments for me changing to Hinwil. The potential of Sauber is enormous, which is not self-evident in a constantly changing Formula One world. The factory in Hinwil has all the requirements to be competitive in Formula One.”

Smith was previously technical director at Caterham (2011-2014), at Force India (2010-2011), at Red Bull Racing (2005-2008) and at Jordan (2004-2005). Currently he is preparing his relocation from Oxfordshire to Switzerland with his wife and two children.

Sauber CEO and team principal Monisha Kaltenborn commented: “After talks with the technical committee, we have searched for a technical director for the Sauber F1 Team - and found Mark. Mark Smith is an engineer with a lot of experience in Formula One.

“Above all, he knows the environment in which privateer teams must work and the challenges that are there - and how important it is to keep calm and keep things in perspective. With us he finds technical possibilities on a very high level. We wish Mark a good start for which he has our full support.”

Sauber have been enjoying a strong 2015 season to date, with drivers Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson scoring a total of 21 points between them.