Peter Sauber believes parting ways with technical director James Key was the only logical option the team had.

The Hinwil team announced earlier this month that Key was leaving the squad he had joined in the middle of the 2010 season.

Sauber has decided not to replace him yet.

Key had helped Sauber with the transition to become a private team again after the exit of owners BMW from the sport in 2009.

Sauber says that, with the cooperation with Key not working as expected, there was no choice but to end the relationship.

"James joined us in a phase when we had to undergo the painful transformation from a manufacturer to a private team, and he was one of the key factors behind returning stability to our squad," said Sauber.

"In the phase that followed it became more and more obvious that the cooperation was not working as both sides had hoped. So to walk separate ways again was the only logical conclusion."

Sauber reckons his team will need to use its development resources better this year in order to avoid the kind of slump it suffered last season following a strong start to the campaign.

"2011 was divided into two very different parts. We had a good first half and a difficult second one," he said.

"This year we will have to allot our development resources in a way that will help us improve over the whole course of the season and help us keep and defend our position."

And the team boss says the goal for the upcoming season is to maintain a consistent level of performance all year long.

"We had a good start and a disappointing end. This season we want to have the same start as last year but we want to keep that level of performance throughout the whole season. If we are able to do that then the final count will look more pleasant."

AutoSport