The Hinwil organisation, which will run under the Stake F1 banner for two interim seasons before the entry of the German manufacturer, is currently being built up with extra staff and improved facilities.
However, Key, who joined in September, concedes that the job won’t be completed in time for Audi’s entry under the new regulations in 2026.
“In terms of next steps, there's a very significant well-documented plan,” he said when asked by Autosport about the team’s situation.
“We're already acting on it. And attracting all the right talent to the team to join some very good talent that's already there is obviously a priority that we're working on hard in the background.
“There is a lead time to people of course, with garden periods. So we're aware of that. We're certainly not waiting for that, there's a lot of stuff we can do now without any extra people and so on.
“But ultimately, to achieve our goals, we have to expand in all the key areas, and in fact in all areas. Everywhere has got to take a step up regardless of where we are in that process.
“So that's the short-term ambition, exactly what we're doing now, working closely with Andreas [Seidl] on that for '24, as well as the future. And then we'll see how we go.
Source: Autosport