By BMWSauber
April 16 2010

“It’s important to have good communication within the team,” he says, “and there has to be a productive culture in place. The people in the team have to believe – and expect – that they will be successful.” That’s the mindset he’s looking for. The 38-year-old is a firm believer in “not giving in, just pressing the accelerator even harder when it gets tough”.

Key already has a remarkable career behind him. Indeed, at the age of 33 he became a Technical Director in Formula One. He started out studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nottingham – on a scholarship from Lotus Engineering. “I’ve always been interested in engineering and automotive technology,” he explains, “and with the support I had from Lotus I was always at very close quarters to the automotive world, of course. Plus, mechanical engineering is a very wide-ranging area of study which touches on a lot of related disciplines. That’s something that appealed to me.” One of his end-of-year theses focused on racing car data acquisition.

For James Key, watching race cars has always been a great excitement. He was taken to rallies by his father as a young child, and at the age of ten he began to get interested in Formula One. It was around this time that he decided he wanted a career in the sport. The dream gradually gained momentum and eventually became reality.

After two years as a designer in Lotus’ GT programme, Key launched his Formula One career in 1998 as a data engineer with Jordan. There, he went on to become race engineer to Takuma Sato. Following a year in the aerodynamics department he was appointed Head of Vehicle Dynamics. In 2005, not long after the team was taken over by the Midland Group, he was appointed Technical Director. He remained in the post when the team became SpykerF1 and then Force India. Key was responsible for the VJM02, which earned the independent team a pole position, podium place and fastest race lap in 2009. “Those were great achievements,” he says, “but there were also some good times before then.” His first victory with Jordan in 1998 was without doubt one of them. He also has fond memories of the 1999 season, when he was data engineer for Heinz-Harald Frentzen. He’s keen to point out that not all the good memories are reflected in points: “Success is when you’re better than you expected to be,” he sums up. “In Formula One we’re all aiming high. Being not successful is simply not an option here.”

James Key is quickly getting down to work in Hinwil. Although he misses his wife Sally and their three children (aged seven, six and four), he would not be able to spend a lot of time with them at this stage of the season anyway. It is likely to be next year before they move over to Switzerland. “This isn’t a good time for the kids to change school,” he explains, with clear disappointment. “2011 will be a better time for the move.” For the time being, then, home for his wife and children will remain a small village near Warwick in central England. James grew up in the countryside; he loves the seclusion, but above all the wide open spaces.

Travelling brings out his curiosity for the wider world. Among his favourite destinations are Malaysia and Japan – Malaysia for the scenery and climate, Japan because it’s just so different. “It’s a fascinating culture, and very civilised,” he smiles, as he recalls the taxi drivers in their white gloves and the lace and plastic covers on the seats of their cars.

Away from F1 he likes to relax by immersing himself in books, preferably thick ones. When it comes to novels, he enjoys spy thrillers and science fiction. Just so long as they have plot lines which you can escape into and which don’t wrap up too soon. He can also get engrossed in non-fiction: biology, astrophysics, history – he’s fascinated by anything that shapes and binds together the world around us. “Of course, when I’m with the kids I try to switch off from work completely. But that’s not always easy,” he concedes. Sometimes a good game of tennis with his wife can help. And that’s one occasion when failure might just be an option.


Date / place of birth: 14th January 1972 / Chelmsford (UK)
Nationality: British
Marital status: Married to Sally, three children
Hobbies: Tennis, reading

Career:

1996
Degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Nottingham;
Designer at Lotus (GT car programme)

1998
Joining Jordan Grand Prix in Formula One as a data engineer

2000
Test engineer at Jordan

2002
Race engineer for Takuma Sato at Jordan

2003
Joining the aero department at Jordan

2004
Head of vehicle dynamics at Jordan

2005-2010
Technical Director of the team (named Midland, Spyker and then Force India)

1st April 2010
Technical Director Sauber Motorsport

Key sez no time for negativity

Discussion started by BMW Sauber F1 (IP Logged), 16/04/2010 18:29

BMW Sauber F1
16/04/2010 18:29

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Raid Phoenix
16/04/2010 19:35

Very good read! certainly a must-have character, and seems to be a top bloke.

Hope he can turn around the current Sauber situation, but it won't be easy. Unfortunately (or not) the days when a single individual made the (big) difference are long gone in F1. But nevertheless the fresh air, and the more than likely re-shuffle coming, should help improve the current weakness situation. Ah, and British flexibility should be a plus, as it seems once a again Sauber was lacking in that respect (a Swiss topic?)

Racing against the machine!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:04:16:19:35:50 by Raid Phoenix.

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German Rocket
16/04/2010 20:01

Certainly a breath of fresh air, this guy.

But I wonder if Peter Sauber is a guy that is ¨easy¨ (flexible) to work with.

All the good guys need space to work at their best.

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TheContrarian
20/04/2010 00:22

I hope he is able to help rally the team to turn the season around. They need sponsors and points...not going to happen if this opening season trend continues for sure...

I hope Peter gives him the room to breath...

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Raid Phoenix
21/04/2010 11:52

Kez praised bz De la Rosa, claiming he is a big boost *but enough?*

[www.autosport.com]

Racing against the machine!

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German Rocket
22/04/2010 05:14

I think its a question of whether one believes f1 is a one-man show or not.

Anyway, considering the level that the team´ś at, at the moment, do you seriously believe they can get worse ?

Unless they get beaten by Lotus in the near future. That´s like another totally different league of disaster for the team. It could happen, you know.

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