Jörg Zander will leave his position as Technical Director of the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team with immediate effect.
In a statement released minutes ago, Sauber announced the change to the technical department and thanked Zander for the service he has given the team since moving from Audi Sport in late 2016 at the end of the latter’s highly successful LMP1 project.
The announcement comes just a month after Sauber hired another former Audi mind in Jan Monchaux as Head of Aerodynamics, with the Swiss privateer team looking to reshape their structure in order to move off the foot of the field.
“Jörg Zander, Technical Director of the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team, will stop working for the team with immediate effect,” the statement read.
“We would like to thank him for his dedication and we wish Jörg Zander all the best and success for the future.”
It was confirmed that until “a new organization” is announced, team principal Frédéric Vasseur will oversee any upgrades to the C39 and the development of the 2019 car, Sauber’s second chassis in their partnership with Alfa Romeo.
Zander had reportedly been critical of Sauber’s set up in the build-up to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, saying to Autosport that the team lacked “competencies and resources in the some of the technical divisions”.
Sauber currently stand ninth in the Constructors’ Standings after four races with ten points, courtesy of Marcus Ericsson and Charles Lelcerc’s points finishes in Bahrain and Azerbaijan respectively.
