Research notes
James Key (born 1972) is a British F1 engineer, a graduate of Nottingham University in Mechanical Engineering (1996, sponsored by Lotus Engineering). He joined Jordan in 1998, starting as a data engineer, before moving through roles as race engineer, wind tunnel engineer, and Head of Vehicle Dynamics, becoming one of the youngest Technical Directors in F1 history at age 33 in 2005. He subsequently served as Technical Director at Spyker, Force India, Sauber, Toro Rosso, and McLaren. He returned to Sauber as Technical Director in September 2023, and continued in that role as the team was restructured into the Audi works team for 2026, leading chassis and aerodynamics development at the Hinwil base.
Head of chassis technology at Audi/Sauber.