Monisha Kaltenborn will be the first woman to lead a Formula 1 team

Peter Sauber, the boss of the eponymous team, revealed that he should step down from his position as team principal in the coming months because the Swiss, aged 68, does not plan to remain at the head of his team beyond the age of 70 – meaning October 2013.

Sauber revealed that he had no doubt about his succession, the position of Sauber F1 team principal will be entrusted to Monisha Kaltenborn, who will also become the first woman to lead a Formula 1 team since the creation of the world championship in 1950.

«I have always said that I would no longer be present on the pit wall from the age of 70. (I can say) with certainty that my successor is Monisha Kaltenborn. That’s for sure. As for the question of when, that remains open, » Peter Sauber told Der Sonntag.

Monisha Kaltenborn has been working for the Sauber team for over 10 years, and Peter Sauber is convinced she is the right person to succeed him: She will be the first woman to lead a team in the history of Formula 1. She has been with us for 13 years, always in roles with responsibilities. I am certain that she will do her job very well.

For those who do not know Monisha Kaltenborn, here is a profile of the current chairwoman of the Sauber F1 team. She was born in India on May 10, 1970, but at the age of eight, her parents decided to leave India for Austria, and as a result, Monisha Kaltenborn holds Austrian nationality. She pursued a legal education to become a lawyer. She notably worked for the UN as well as law firms in Germany and Austria before joining the Fritz Kaiser Group in 1998, which owned shares in the Red Bull Sauber F1 team, to manage the legal affairs of the Hinwil team.

In 2000, during the sale of shares held by the Fritz Kaiser Group, she joined the Sauber Group, taking over the legal department of the group responsible for the Swiss team. In 2001, she joined the board of directors. Since January 2010, she has been appointed as the head of the board of directors of Sauber Motorsport, which oversees the Sauber F1 team – she also became the first woman to head the operations of a Formula 1 team.

Integrated into the Sauber team board of directors since 2001, she was responsible for negotiating contracts with different drivers, sponsors, and suppliers of the Swiss team. She was also in contact with the FIA and the holders of the commercial rights of F1, the FOM, which is led by Bernie Ecclestone. She is therefore well aware of the workings of Formula 1.