• Sauber news

Kaltenborn becomes Sauber team principal

Monisha Kaltenborn has been Sauber CEO since January 2011 © Sutton Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• Drivers:
• Peter Sauber

• Teams:
• Alfa Romeo

Monisha Kaltenborn has taken over as Sauber team principal from Peter Sauber with immediate effect.

Kaltenborn becomes the first female team principal in the history of Formula One as she takes on the role in addition to her existing position of CEO. Having worked for the team for 12 years, Sauber transferred a third of the company's shares in to her name and has now stepped aside in terms of the day-to-day running of the team he owns. Kaltenborn described the role as a "major responsibility" that she was looking forward to taking on.

"Naturally I'm very aware of the major responsibility I have for Peter Sauber's racing team," Kaltenborn said. "He founded the team over 40 years ago, and in the spring it will be 20 years since Sauber lined up for its debut Formula One grand prix. We are the fourth-oldest team in Formula One. To build up a project like this and keep it alive in a difficult environment is a tremendous achievement. I have set my sights high and am committed to taking the team forward as Peter Sauber would want and leading it on to success."

Sauber - who turns 69 on Saturday - admitted that the move had been planned for some time as he has previously said he doesn't want to still be on the pit wall at 70.

"We decided a long time ago that Monisha would take over from me," Sauber said. "But we left the timing open. Now is a good time for both of us, so this is the right moment to pass on the baton. After all, there have been a number of races I've been unable to attend - most recently the Japanese Grand Prix, where the team put in an excellent performance. I'm in no doubt that Monisha has all the necessary skills to be an outstanding Team Principal, and I'm equally certain she will ensure that the values underpinning the company live on. That is very important to me."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.