Colin Kolles (born Călin Colesnic 13 December 1967 in
Timişoara,
Romania) is the team principal and managing director of the
Hispania Racing F1 Team, previously holding a similar position at the team known under the names
Jordan,
Midland,
Spyker and
Force India from 2005 to 2008. He is from
Ingolstadt, Germany, and his nationality is
German.
Kolles qualified as a dentist, which was the family business - although "evidence" that his father was dentist to former
Romanian leader
Nicolae Ceauşescu is not factual - the cited article being a spoof (re: F1 Racing June 2007). In 2000 he entered racing by establishing the Kolles Racing team in the
German Formula Three Championship, and later the TME Racing team in the
Formula Three Euroseries. He was appointed as Managing Director of the
Jordan Grand Prix team by its new owner,
Alex Shnaider, on 19 January 2005.
Despite receiving some criticism in 2005 for his "hard-headed" approach, Kolles kept his position Managing Director of the team, presiding over the launch of the
Midland M16 chassis before the
2006 season began. Following the team's takeover by Spyker and then
Force India, he remained as managing director.
Despite running a Formula One team,...
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