Ferrari is reportedly coveting the former technical director at Sauber

In last February, even before the C31 curves were revealed, James Key, then technical director at Sauber, decided to set sail for new horizons: “I was offered a new role in the UK, which I decided to accept,” the 40-year-old engineer laconically stated.

However, for the past few days, it’s not in Great Britain but rather in Italy that several newspapers are sending James Key. Thus, the Gazzetta dello Sport, BBC Sport, and also Bild report attempts by Ferrari to hire the British engineer within a technical department undergoing restructuring.

While Autosprint recently indicated that the next evolution of the F2012 would be heavily inspired by the Sauber C31 – to the point of mentioning a Ferrauber – the arrival of James Key would be a significant asset for the Italian team. Depending on the extent of the changes made to the F2012, they would avoid having to relearn everything, as James Key is already familiar with Ferrari, whose engines are used by Sauber. Luca Colajanni, Ferrari’s head of media relations, formally denied the rumors in the columns of the Spanish newspaper AS, stating that there was nothing to report. The Italian team, when questioned on their Twitter account, once again denied: “It’s not true…”

So far, James Key was linked to a role of responsibility within the Lotus Endurance project, with the British manufacturer set to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both the GT and LMP2 categories. However, the economic difficulties faced by Lotus Cars, which no longer supports the Lotus Formula One team and is currently experiencing significant challenges in its IndyCar program, could encourage James Key to consider a return to Formula One, yielding to the allure of a team that, despite being in crisis, is not experiencing a crisis.