Sauber technical director Smith left F1 team

Sauber has revealed its technical director Mark Smith left the team, with the former Caterham man returning to the UK for family reasons.

Smith joined the Swiss outfit last summer to fill a post that had been vacant since James Key’s departure ahead of the 2012 season. Before his tenure with Team Lotus (later Caterham), Smith worked at Red Bull and Force India.

Prior to hiring Smith, Sauber had restructured its organisation and worked without a technical director, relying on a committee that comprised the heads of car performance, aerodynamics and the design groups.

Driver Felipe Nasr explained over the winter that Smith was the driving force behind Sauber's different and aggressive approach in terms of design that has resulted in the 2016-spec C35.

“We would like to thank Mark for his efforts and we wish him all the best for his future”, the team said in a statement.

TECHNICAL: A closer look at the Sauber C35

F1i Classic: Melbourne 2002 - Mark Webber's dream debut

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter