Force India Appoint Mark Smith as New Technical Director

Just like last season, Force India decided to do a little reorganizing before the new Formula One campaign. However, as compared to the 2009 season, prior to which team co-owner Vijay Mallya proceeded to fire both Colin Kolles and Mike Gascoyne from their positions in his team, this season will only see a new technical director at Silverstone.

As confirmed by the team via a media statement, former technical director James Key decided to willingly leave the Indian outfit. Needless to say, the reason why he did so, as it appears in the majority of such cases, was “to pursue new opportunities.”

“We wish him every success in his future endeavors,” said team owner and boss Vijay Mallya, according to the media statement.

“I felt the time was right for me to move on to new opportunities,” confirmed Key, although not stating what those opportunities might be. Additionally, he did not say whether those new challenges are linked with the world of auto racing in general or Formula One in particular.

With Key probably letting his team know about his decision for quite some time now, Mallya was quick in appointing a replacement for Key in the technical director position, in the person of current design director Mark Smith. Nevertheless, it wasn't confirmed if Smith will continue to take care of the design section within the team or focus entirely on his new position.

Smith has previously worked with teams like Renault and Red Bull Racing in Formula One, before signing an agreement with Force India as design director before the team's official F1 launch in 2008.