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F1 Team Boss Merry-Go-Round Unfolds With Ferrari, McLaren, Alfa Romeo

Four of the 10 team principals are on the move within the span of a month, news breaking on three of them in the last 24 hours.

Madeline Coleman

Formula One fans, you thought silly season was over when the 2023 driver grid was set, but buckle in—the team principals are on the move as well. 

Frédéric Vasseur will take over as Ferrari’s team principal and general manager on January 9, the Formula One team announced Tuesday. The Frenchman will be leaving Alfa Romeo to replace the outgoing Mattia Binotto, whose resignation was announced Nov. 29 but will remain with the team until Dec. 31. Vasseur had been widely rumored to be the favorite to takeover. He’s been with Alfa Romeo since 2017, and his reign ended with the team’s best result in a decade—a sixth place finish with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.

CEO Benedetto Vigna said, in part, in a statement, “Throughout his career he has successfully combined his technical strengths as a trained engineer with a consistent ability to bring out the best in his drivers and teams. This approach and his leadership are what we need to push Ferrari forward with renewed energy.”

Vasseur will now takeover a team that finished second in the world championships, amassing four wins and 12 pole positions thanks to Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. However, he will need to end the team’s title drought. It hasn’t won the drivers’ championship since 2007 (Kimi Räikkönen) or the teams’ title since ‘08. With this move, Vasseur and Leclerc will be reunited as the pair worked together in 2018, the Monégasque’s rookie season with Alfa Romeo. 

The Frenchman said in a statement, in part, “As someone who has always held a lifelong passion for motorsport, Ferrari has always represented the very pinnacle of the racing world to me. I look forward to working with the talented and truly passionate team in Maranello to honour the history and heritage of the Scuderia and deliver for our Tifosi around the world.” 

Alfa Romeo sang Vasseur’s high praises when announcing his departure as team principal and Sauber Motorsport CEO. The team was struggling at the back of the grid when the Frenchman took over, and the press release touched on how he helped grow the confidence within the group. 

Finn Rausing, Sauber Holding AG chairman of the board of directors, commented in a statement, in part, “He was the first to believe in our project and he leaves a team in a much stronger, healthier position than when he arrived, with a bright future ahead of us, which is all that could have been asked of him.”

The same day, McLaren announced Andreas Seidl would be leaving the team and Andrea Stella, the executive racing director, will move from his role and into the F1 team boss position. He has been with the Woking-based team since 2015, filling a variety of roles like Head of Race Operations and Performance Director. 

Stella spent 15 years with Ferrari, which included working as a performance engineer for Michael Schumacher and Räikkönen (2002 to ’08). He, then, became a race engineer for Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso (2009 to ’15). 

He takes over a team that finished fifth in the constructors’ standings, just 14 points behind rival Alpine, and will have a driver change. McLaren and Daniel Ricciardo split at the end of the 2022 season, and Oscar Piastri will make his F1 debut with the team in ‘23. Lando Norris, who scored a bulk of the points with 122, was the only driver outside of the top three teams—Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes— to end up on the podium last season. 

“I feel privileged to take on the Team Principal role as the next stage of being part of the McLaren F1 Team. I am grateful to Zak and the Shareholders for their trust in me and to all my colleagues and those who have supported me throughout my F1 career,” Stella said in a statement. “We are realistic about the amount of work ahead of us to move back up the grid, but I am excited and encouraged that I am in this journey together with a team full of talent, experience, racing spirit and dedication. I look forward to working closely with each of them, Lando and Oscar, to together achieving great success and enjoying the journey.”

Within a few minutes, it was confirmed that Seidl, who spent four years with the Woking-based team, would join the Sauber Group as CEO beginning in January. He has a history with the Volkswagen Group, and the team is set to transition to an Audi works group in 2026. However, according to Sauber’s press release, Alfa Romeo and Seidl will work on finding the outfit’s next team boss. 

“It is great to join the Sauber Group from January: this is a team with a rich history in Formula One and an organisation I know really well from my time working and living in Hinwil for four years,” he said in a statement. “I can’t wait to join the team and work with all the colleagues at the Sauber Group on the ambitious goals we have set together. I want to thank Finn Rausing and everyone at the Sauber Group for their choice: I am looking forward to repaying their trust with my work.”

But the team principal merry go round does not stop there. The news of Vasseur’s move comes a day after Williams Racing announced Jost Capito stepped down as team principal and CEO. Additionally, Technical Director FX Demaison will leave as well. Who will take over the Grove-based team has not been announced at this time. 

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Madeline Coleman
MADELINE COLEMAN

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