James Key has left his position as technical director for the Sauber Formula One team, the Swiss outfit confirmed in a statement on Friday, with the former Force India man set to move to one of their rival teams on the grid.
The team confirmed Key's departure while announcing the restructuring of their technical department for the new F1 season.
The statement confirmed that Key would leave for a rival team.
It also confirmed that responsibility for the development of their 2012 car would now be shared by the heads of their aerodynamic, design, performance and operations divisions.
"A qualified team shares the overall technical responsibility. This structure has proved to work well at other racing outfits," team boss Peter Sauber explained.
"Over a period of almost two years, James has accomplished a lot for our team. Especially in the difficult transition period from a manufacturer team into a private enterprise.
"He contributed significantly to ensure the team regained stability. We would like to thank him for his efforts and wish him all the best for his future."
Key himself added that: "I've enjoyed the past two years working at the Sauber F1 Team.
"It has been a very intense and interesting time, in which we had to manage the transition from a much larger team to a smaller one, and everybody handled that very well.
"I think the team is now well set for the future and I wish it the very best. I have been offered a new role back in the UK, which I decided to accept."
The statement did not expand on which team Key would be joining.
The technical chief joined Sauber in 2010, moving from the Force India squad to replace Willy Rampf as the team embarked on their first season post-BMW split.
Sauber finished 7th in the 2011 constructors championship with key, an improvement of one position on their 2010 position.
They will launch their new C31 car on Monday.
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