Hinwil (Switzerland): Monisha Kaltenborn, the first female team principal in Formula 1, is looking forward to visiting the country of her birth, thanks to the Indian Grand Prix. Though she has been away from India for the major part of her life, the Sauber chief has remained close to her roots.
Dehradun-born Kaltenborn migrated to Austria with her parents when she was eight and has travelled across the world since then.
The 41-year-old says she is proud of her Indian roots.
“I don’t think you ever lose your roots, and anyway you can tell where I am from just by looking at me. I also think I have a certain serenity and openness you might describe as Indian. That includes shrugging off negative experiences and focusing positively on the future – something that is important Formula 1.
Kaltenborn’s rise in the male-dominated world of F1 has been remarkable. She earned a master’s degree in Law from the London School of Economics in 1996 and joined Sauber’s legal department in 1998. She became the head of the law department in 2000 and was part of the Board by 2001. In 2010, she was made the CEO before Peter Sauber asked her to fill his shoes.
“Peter Sauber’s withdrawal from the day-to-day running of the business has been on the cards for a long time, so this latest step was well prepared. I am acutely aware of what it means to carry the responsibility for this company, which has been around for over 40 years and involved in Formula 1 for almost 20 years.”
Her team has also had a good year with four podium-finishes out of the first 16 rounds. A fifth one will be welcome at Indian Grand Prix, says Kaltenborn.
“The track layout is very similar to that in Korea. There are slow and fast turns and quite a long straight. The circuit is likely to be neither ideal terrain nor particularly problematic. I am confident that we will manage another decent points haul.”
On the personal side, Kaltenborn rues the hectic season which stops her from spending much time in India. “As far as the Sauber F1 Team is concerned, the Indian GP is a race like any other. From a personal point of view, it’s rather different. I am particularly looking forward to this race in my home country. But the fact that I travel to all the race venues as part of my job, I don’t have time for private trips to India.”
Kaltenborn, however, plans to come a day ahead of the October 26-28 event.
“I won’t really have time but I’ll be flying out at least a day early to spend some time looking around New Delhi and attending various media events.”
Asked about the future of F1 in India, she says: “It’s difficult for any sport to find a place in India next to cricket. But I do think that the interest in Formula 1 has risen significantly since its debut last year.” (IANS)
