Former Toro Rosso engineer Xevi Pujolar has joined the Sauber team as head of track engineering, as the Swiss outfit begins its recruitment drive following its recent takeover.
The team has lost several key members of staff over the past two years as its struggled with its budget and to pay staff wages, but with Longbow Finance taking control last month, the team's budget has been boosted ahead of 2017.
As part of its plans to get back on terms with its rivals, team boss Monisha Kaltenborn said Sauber must begin to replace those its lost and boost areas it feels it needs to strengthen.
"There are a couple of areas we need to look at," she said. "Wherever it is strategically necessary, we will recruit. It is about additions and replacements."
It has been confirmed that Pujolar, who worked alongside Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso and Jean-Eric Vergne before that, will join the team to replace Tim Malyon who left the team in April, despite having only been in the position for three months.
Pujolar has already begun working with the team this week and is expected to start attending races from Singapore onwards.
