Peter Sauber officially hands over the reins to Monisha Kaltenborn
After several months of delays, Peter Sauber has finally decided to delegate the daily management of the Sauber team to Monisha Kaltenborn, who thus officially becomes the first woman to lead a Formula One team.
In the pipeline for many months, the transfer of powers between Peter Sauber and Monisha Kaltenborn has finally taken place. In fact, last April, the emblematic boss of the Swiss team told *Der Sonntag*: “I have always said that I would no longer be present on the pit wall after turning 70. My successor is Monisha Kaltenborn. That’s certain. As for the question of when, that remains open.”
If last June, the Swiss did not seem in a hurry to leave his position as team principal, he finally decided, on the eve of the Korean Grand Prix, to hand over to the one who had held the position of executive chairman since January 2010. For Peter Sauber, who remains nonetheless Chairman of Sauber Group, the handover was just a matter of timing: “We decided a long time ago that Monisha would take over, but the deadline remained open. Today, it’s the right time for both of us, so it’s the right time to pass the baton. After all, there were a number of races where I couldn’t be present, like recently at the Japanese Grand Prix where the team performed excellently. I have absolutely no doubt that Monisha has all the necessary skills to be a remarkable team principal, and I am just as certain that the values underpinning the team will continue to live on. That is very important to me.”
Peter Sauber is stepping back and leaving Monisha Kaltenborn to manage his team on a day-to-day basis, a task the Austrian, who has held a third of Sauber’s shares since last year, feels ready to undertake: « Naturally, I am well aware of the significant responsibility I have towards Peter Sauber’s team. He founded this team forty years ago, and next spring, it will be 20 years since Sauber made its Grand Prix debut. We are the fourth oldest team still in operation. Building a project like this one and keeping it alive in such a challenging environment is a tremendous achievement. I have set high goals for myself, and I am determined to advance the team as Peter Sauber would have wanted and lead it to success. »
