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Sauber appoint Mark Smith as their new technical director

Former Caterham, Force India, Red Bull and Jordan man to join later this month

Mark Smith: Appointed Sauber technical director

Sauber announced on Wednesday that Mark Smith is joining them as technical director.

In a statement, the Swiss team said that Smith will start on July 13 at their base in Hinwil. The 54-year-old has served in the role for several teams, most recently Caterham (2011-2014) but also Force India (2010-2011), Red Bull Racing (2005-2008) and Jordan (2004-2005).

“When I saw the facilities for the first time in Hinwil, I immediately realised the possibilities I would have,” Smith said. “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.”

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Sauber explained that he will fit into their technical committee’s existing structure consisting 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 technical committee the space to fully focus on their working areas.

Team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said: “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.”

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