Sauber and team principal Monisha Kaltenborn have decided to part ways ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, it is being reported.

Kaltenborn became the first female team boss in 2012, two years after helping founder Peter Sauber rebuild the team after buying it back from BMW.

Her tenure has been mixed, however, with two initial strong years thanks to Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, but growing financial problems have seen Sauber slip to te back of the grid, failing to score a point in 2014  and relying on one result from Felipe Nasr at last year's Brazilian Grand Prix to avoid a repeat.

There was also a debacle at the beginning of the 2015 season when former Caterham driver Giedo van der Garde took the team to court in Australia as he had what was deemed a binding contract to race with Sauber, only for the team to employ Marcus Ericsson with the Dutchman later reaching a settlement

2016 was a better year for the Hinwil-based squad off the track as they relieved the financial strain following a takeover by Longbow Finance, which saw Kaltenborn remain in her position, and the team is now building for the future.

The news of Monisha's departure has yet to be confirmed by Sauber themselves, however, former HRT boss Colin Kolles is already being tipped as her replacement.