Monisha Kaltenborn leaves Sauber F1 Team

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal of the Sauber team F1 Team, is leaving his position with immediate effect, as announced in a press release by Longbow Finance SA, owner of the structure since last year.

“Longbow Finance SA regrets to announce that, by mutual agreement and due to a divergent vision on the future of the company, Monisha Kaltenborn is leaving her position at Sauber Group with immediate effect, says Pascal Picci, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sauber Holding SA.

We thank her for many years of leadership, great passion for Sauber F1 Team and wish her the best for the future. His successor will be announced soon. In the meantime, we wish the team good luck for Azerbaijan. »

Entry into the fold of the stableHinwil in 2000 in the legal department, the 46-year-old Indian subsequently joined the team's management board in 2001 before becoming general manager in 2010.

After buying a third of the team's shares in 2011, Monisha Kaltenborn took the position of Team Principal in 2012, becoming the first woman promoted to this position. That same year, the team returned to the podium with Sergio Pérez and Kamui Kobayashi. More complicated years will follow, notably in 2014 with zero points in the Manufacturers' championship.

Longbow Finance SA, however, insisted on denying certain information on the reasons for this rather sudden departure. “The owners and board of directors of Sauber Motorsport AG distance themselves from speculative and widespread media reports that our drivers have not been and are not treated equally.

This is not only wrong, it would be contrary to the team's absolute and long-standing commitment to fair competition. These reports, attributed to anonymous "sources", are very damaging to both Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein, as well as the management and team of Sauber F1 Team. »