Alex Hitzinger
Alexander Hitzinger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Alexander Hitzinger 23 October 1971 |
| Nationality |  German |
| Occupation | LMP1 Technical Director of Porsche LMP1 |
| Spouse | Madeline |
Alexander, or Alex, Hitzinger (born 23 October 1971 in Passau)[1] is a German engineer, until 31st of March 2016 he was the Technical Director of the Porsche LMP1 project.[2] He previously worked as Head of Advanced Technologies for the Red Bull and Toro Rosso Formula One teams.
Early life and education
Hitzinger was born in Passau, Germany.[1] He has been interested in motorsports since he was a teenager. Different from most boys, who are fascinated by fast cars, he was mainly interested in the technical aspects of the car. He studied mechanical engineering at University of Applied Sciences Landshut as an undergraduate and earned an MBA from Warwick Business School at University of Warwick, UK.[3]
Career
Hitzinger's first job in the automotive industry was at Toyota Motorsport as a development engineer.[3] Hitzinger moved to Cosworth together with World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz, when Carlos changed team from Toyota to Ford. At Cosworth, he firstly worked as Head of the Ford-Cosworth World Rally Championship programme and then as Head of F1 Development. In 2005, at the age of 34, Hitzinger was one of the youngest chief engineers in F1.[4]
Under Hitzinger’s leadership, in 2006, Cosworth F1 team developed the first ever F1 engine (Cosworth CA, 2.4 Litre, V8 [5]) to attain 20,000 rpm at the track, despite the difficult circumstances (under budget and small amount of staff). This set a new standard at the time for F1 engines. [3][6][7]
From 2006 to 2011 he worked as Head of Advanced Technologies for Red Bull Technology[3] and from mid-2006 and mid-2007 he also filled the role of Technical Director of the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One team.[6]
Since 2011, Hitzinger has been Technical Director of the Porsche LMP1 project.[3] On 14 March 2016, it was announced that Alex Hitzinger was leaving Porsche.
References
- ^ a b "Alex Hitzinger". oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ "Porsche LMP1 Technical Director Hitzinger Quits - Ferdinand". Ferdinand Porsche Magazine. 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
- ^ a b c d e "Alexander Hitzinger". Autonews. April 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
- ^ "Das große 'F1Total.com'-Interview mit Alex Hitzinger". Motorsport-Total. 25 November 2005. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ^ "Cosworth V8 20000rpm engine dyno run". ScORTED. 6 Dec 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ^ a b "Hitzinger gets dual Red Bull role". 27 September 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
- ^ "King of Speed: Cosworth's CA 2.4l V8". f1technical. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2014.