So James Key has been confirmed as technical director of Toro Rosso.
Regular readers of this site (are there any of you out there?) will have read my piece over the Hockenheim weekend in which I stated that Key would be making the move to the Red Bull Junior team, although I'll admit that the official move happened more quickly than I'd assumed it would.
To assume makes an ass out of...
The appointment of Key is a good one for the team. While Giorgio Ascanelli is a fine technical director, he lacked the aerodynamic background that Toro Rosso needs if they are to move up to the next level.
I would have split the technical director role in two, giving one man responsibility for aero and the other for engineering, but there's probably a very good reason I'm not in charge of HR for an F1 team. Like my total lack of suitability for the role.
Anyway, while it's sad to see the back of Ascanelli - his habit of responding to fatuous questions in Latin will be sorely missed by this journalist - I imagine that the popular Italian will be returning to the paddock in the not too distant future.
On to Key, then who might prove to be just what Toro Rosso need if they are to unlock (fnar, fnar!) the team's true potential.
Key was instrumental in the development of this year's Sauber, which is still widely seen as the best of the field when it comes to overall aero balance. With a car designed under his stewardship, Toro Rosso should find themselves in a position to fight among the stronger mid-field teams next year, instead of at the back of the pack as has been the case for much of 2012.
[Note]: Due to fat fingers, the last line originally said 2013 and has been corrected. We're not living in the future. Not until F1 goes to Japan, anyway.
Regular readers of this site (are there any of you out there?) will have read my piece over the Hockenheim weekend in which I stated that Key would be making the move to the Red Bull Junior team, although I'll admit that the official move happened more quickly than I'd assumed it would.
To assume makes an ass out of...
The appointment of Key is a good one for the team. While Giorgio Ascanelli is a fine technical director, he lacked the aerodynamic background that Toro Rosso needs if they are to move up to the next level.
I would have split the technical director role in two, giving one man responsibility for aero and the other for engineering, but there's probably a very good reason I'm not in charge of HR for an F1 team. Like my total lack of suitability for the role.
Anyway, while it's sad to see the back of Ascanelli - his habit of responding to fatuous questions in Latin will be sorely missed by this journalist - I imagine that the popular Italian will be returning to the paddock in the not too distant future.
On to Key, then who might prove to be just what Toro Rosso need if they are to unlock (fnar, fnar!) the team's true potential.
Key was instrumental in the development of this year's Sauber, which is still widely seen as the best of the field when it comes to overall aero balance. With a car designed under his stewardship, Toro Rosso should find themselves in a position to fight among the stronger mid-field teams next year, instead of at the back of the pack as has been the case for much of 2012.
[Note]: Due to fat fingers, the last line originally said 2013 and has been corrected. We're not living in the future. Not until F1 goes to Japan, anyway.
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