James Key, technical director of Sauber in F1 since last year, in anticipation of Audi’s entry in 2026, will have a new performance director in his organization: Stefano Sordo, former performance director for McLaren in 2022 and aerodynamics director at Red Bull before 2017, joins the Sauber group this June. He will strengthen the Swiss structure, acquired by Audi a few months ago.
Stefano Sordo has over 20 years of experience in motorsports and many years of presence in Formula 1. Race engineer at Toro Rosso in 2006, he joined the Red Bull team the following year to take over responsibility for aerodynamics from 2014 to 2016. He then joined the McLaren team, where he became head of F1 performance for 6 years, until 2022.
In the USA for two years, with Rahal in Indycar, Stefano Sordo returns to Europe this summer to join Sauber as Performance Director under the leadership of Andreas Seidl, the new CEO of the Sauber group and F1 team principal.
📣 We’re excited to welcome Stefano Sordo to the team, in the position of Performance Director.
Sordo will bring a wealth of F1 performance-based experience and report directly to our Technical Director, James Key.
— Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber (@stakef1team_ks) June 10, 2024
The appointment of Stefano is an important step in the development of the structure of our technical department, details Andreas Seidl. Stefano knows what a winning team needs, he brings a wealth of experience to the team and, thanks to the various roles he has held in the past, he is perfectly placed to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of our technical operations and meet the needs. We have a strong technical team in Hinwil, and Stefano’s appointment will help us harness these skills and turn them into performance as we continue to navigate this crucial period for our organization, with the Audi F1 factory team preparing for its debut.
On his side, James Key, the new technical director of the team, is delighted to see his department strengthen: As our technical departments continue to grow in light of our new organization and future ambitions, I am delighted to welcome Stefano to the team as director of performance. Stefano is a key addition to our team, who will shape our understanding and priorities for the performance direction of new cars and ongoing development in the season, working closely with me, as well as with our vehicle performance, aerodynamics, and track engineering groups. Stefano brings a wealth of experience to the team, combined with his focused and determined approach, and is a strong and influential team player. I welcome Stefano to the team and look forward to working with him to achieve our goals.
Just arrived in Hinwill, near Zurich in Switzerland, Stefano Sordo is very happy about this change: “I am delighted to take on a role that will have a direct impact on unlocking the performance we already have within our company and helping us reach new heights. The team is at a crucial moment in its history, with the start of the Audi adventure fast approaching, and I am looking forward to the challenge ahead. I am excited about the future: the goals set by the team are ambitious, but I see a lot of confidence from everyone within this organization.”
Audi will continue to name its F1 team Sauber in 2025, before introducing the Audi brand to the F1 championship in 2026 with an Audi badged engine.
