Alfa Romeo F1 signs McLaren’s James Key as technical director

Alfa Romeo recently announced James Key as the team's new technical director. The British engineer will start working for the Hinwil-based team on September 1, 2023, after serving the gardening leave.

In an official piece by Alfa Romeo, Sauber Group CEO Andreas Seidl was delighted to have James Key on board. He welcomed him to the team and was positive about how Key would help the team move forward.

“I am delighted to welcome James back home to Hinwil as he joins us to shape the future of this team. The operation he will find has changed a lot since his time here, but the same drive, the same commitment that contributed to making the team successful in his previous experience are still the same: I am sure that, together with this very talented and committed team, we will be able to continue on the path of growth on which we have embarked," Seidl said.

James Key himself spoke about returning to Hinwil and how he has great memories of working with Sauber. He, too, is looking forward to working with the team and pushing them up the grid in the future.

“I am delighted to be returning to Hinwil to work with old, and new, colleagues at Sauber; I have very fond memories of my time there before. I am looking forward to leading the technical side of the team at one of the most critical junctures of its long history as we head towards a new and exciting future," Key said.

"There is a huge amount of work ahead of us, but I am confident that every single member of our team working in Hinwil will have the commitment, determination and hunger to get us to the top," he added.

Up until now, James Key had been working at McLaren as a technical director. However, he was released by the team in March 2023 and was replaced by Ferrari's head aerodynamicist, David Sanchez.

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McLaren releases James Key as part of a major restructuring of its technical department

Back in March 2023, McLaren announced that it would be releasing its technical director, James Key, and reorganizing its technical department and hierarchy.

In a statement, the F1 team explained how it is going to split the technical director role into three different personnel who will directly work with team principal Andrea Stella.

“The team has taken the decision to move away from a single Executive Technical Director role, overseeing the whole technical operation. Instead, it will be introducing a Formula 1 Technical Executive Team comprising of three new specialized Technical Director roles, reporting directly to Team Principal Andrea Stella. James Key, Executive Technical Director has left the team as part of this restructure,” the statement read.

After Key left McLaren, he remained a free agent until Alfa Romeo made an offer to him.