![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/mclaren-chief-who-left-team-for-f1-rival-given-first-orders-by-his-new-boss/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/0_GettyImages-1468901536.jpg&description=Alfa Romeo-Sauber have a big job on their hands to improve performance now and also hit the ground running as Audi in 2026, and have recruited another top McLaren chief to help with both goals James Key's first job as Alfa Romeo technical director will be to kickstart the team's technical department in the midst of an underwhelming season for Sauber. Key is a notable hire for the team, having played a key role at McLaren since joining the team in 2018. He was released in March this year after an organisational shake-up in Woking, amid McLaren's dreadful start to the season. In June, Alfa Romeo announced he would be returning to the Sauber team, having spent two years at Hinwil more than a decade ago. But it's a team which looks a lot different these days, in the midst of a transition with the end result being the birth of the Audi works team from 2026. Key starts his role on September 1 and will be thrown straight into the deep end. Alessandro Alunni Bravi, the team representative in lieu of a team principal this season, has publicly stated that Key's first big job will be to aid in the fight to finish seventh in the championship this season – two places higher than their current position. "Priority checklist for James Key will be to improve the performance of the car and to help Andreas Seidl to shape the technical department. As a team, we are in a transformation process, and the addition of James Key brings a lot of value to our team, because James has not only been a technical director. "He has been in different roles in the technical level of the teams he has previously been working with. So, I expect that he will give the contribution as everybody in the team, that we need to do a step as a team and move forward." The new football season is nearly upon us and with 500 live games to watch, as well access to Cricket, Golf, F1, Boxing, NFL and the NBA across eight dedicated channels, Sky Sports is the only way to watch all the action. Get Sky Sports from £22 a mo){kind=link}
Alfa Romeo-Sauber have a big job on their hands to improve performance now and also hit the ground running as Audi in 2026, and have recruited another top McLaren chief to help with both goals
James Key’s first job as Alfa Romeo technical director will be to kickstart the team’s technical department in the midst of an underwhelming season for Sauber.
Key is a notable hire for the team, having played a key role at McLaren since joining the team in 2018. He was released in March this year after an organisational shake-up in Woking, amid McLaren’s dreadful start to the season.
In June, Alfa Romeo announced he would be returning to the Sauber team, having spent two years at Hinwil more than a decade ago. But it’s a team which looks a lot different these days, in the midst of a transition with the end result being the birth of the Audi works team from 2026.
Key starts his role on September 1 and will be thrown straight into the deep end. Alessandro Alunni Bravi, the team representative in lieu of a team principal this season, has publicly stated that Key’s first big job will be to aid in the fight to finish seventh in the championship this season â two places higher than their current position.