F1 is not satisfied with a driver market silly season and has decided to have one with Team Principals as well. Team Principals are just as famous as the drivers now thanks to Drive to Survive. Twitter stan accounts are devoted to not just drivers, but Toto Wolff and Christian Horner, with Guenther Steiner becoming a meme.
It seems in the past day most of the teams across the grid have lost or changed their Team Principal, so it can be difficult to keep up with who is who and where they have gone. Here is a helpful condensed guide through F1’ silly season- Team Principal edition.
Mattia Binotto leaves Ferrari
Binotto leaving Ferrari as Team Principal seemed inevitable after the disaster class of this year at Ferrari. They threw the championship away, strategic blunder after strategic blunder, the car also dropping off the pace significantly after the summer break. There is clearly a lot more going on at Ferrari with deep internal problems evident from the mistakes they made, but Mattia Binotto was the sacrificial lamb.
Arguably he has not handled their mistakes well in the press. Never seeming able to own up to their mistakes and a Charles Leclerc growing angrier by the day, he was not the team leader they needed.
It does feel rather unfair that Binotto was made to leave but it is clear a fresh approach is needed at Ferrari for them to launch a proper championship challenge in 2023.
Jost Capito Leaves Williams
After two years in charge of the former World Championship winning outfit, after failing to make any significant gains in the midfield for Williams, Jost Capito announced he was leaving.
With all of the Ferrari drama and rumours of who was replacing Binotto, it seemed a bit odd that Williams was making such significant changes as this. There seems to be no reason officially for Capito’s departure. Dorilton Capital an investment group that now owns Williams released this statement about Capito’s departure:
“We would like to thank Jost for his hard work and dedication as we embarked on a major transformation process to begin the journey of reviving Williams Racing.
“We’re grateful that Jost postponed his planned retirement to take on this challenge and now he will pass the reins on for the next part of this staged process.”
Capito also failed to elaborate on his reason for leaving Williams stating:
“It has been a huge privilege to lead Williams Racing for the last two seasons and to lay the foundations for the turnaround of this great team.
One thing is clear. Fresh blood is needed at Williams and a cash injection to drive them up to the midfield, a task it seems Capito has started.
Fred Vasseur Leaves Alfa Romeo to join Ferrari
After Binotto’s departure the rumour mill started to go wild wondering who would take on the poisoned chalice at the Scuderia. Would Ross Brawn make a return restoring Ferrari to the former glory days they last enjoyed with Michael Schumacher? It was Fred Vasseur’s name that was being thrown around the most.
Alfa Romeo’s Team Principal announced he would be leaving Alfa Romeo and after all of the rumours he was announced as Ferrari’s Team Principal. It is difficult to assess if Vasseur is the right man for the job. His time at Alfa was neither a failure or a success. They have remained a solid midfield team finishing 6th in the constructor’s championship in 2022, but their car performance has not been great.
Why Vasseur’s appointment to Ferrari is so exciting is his relationship with Charles Leclerc. He has been part of Leclerc’s journey into F1 from a young age, working with him at ART during his championship winning year in GP3 (now known as Formula 3).
Undoubtedly Leclerc’s talent and this relationship aided him to his F1 seat at Sauber in 2018, where Vasseur was Team Principal. Here Leclerc shone and earnt the Ferrari seat, the Maranello based outfit investing in youth for the first time in a while.
It is clear Leclerc is more than frustrated with Ferrari, and needs a morale boost not only to be in a place where he can fight the likes of Hamilton and Verstappen, but also to stay at the team.
Crash.Net have argued in their headline that the Vasseur’s “job is to keep Charles Leclerc sweet – and stop him going to Mercedes”. This is a sentiment I am inclined to agree with. After the 2022 season who could blame Leclerc for eyeing up a seat at Mercedes when Lewis Hamilton eventually retires. They are well oiled machine that have rarely made mistakes during their 8 constructor’s championships. Toto Wolff also knows how to manage his drivers, and the few they have in the past decade shows the stability in that team- Schumacher, Rosberg, Hamilton, Bottas and Russell.
Andreas Seidl leaves McLaren to join Sauber-Audi
Less exciting than the Ferrari news, but still interesting is McLaren’s Team Principal Andreas Seidl jumping ship to become the Chief Executive Officer of Sauber Motorsport. This comes after a terrible season for McLaren. The new regulations were a chance for them to get out of the midfield and finally become a top team, but their car often struggled in 2022, finishing behind Alpine in the championship in 5th.
Seidl previously worked with Sauber between 2006-2009 when the team was owned by BMW, and with Audi coming on board in 2026 it is clear why the former McLaren man was attracted to this new project. It is believed that he has been brought on in order to improve the team’s performance for when Audi eventually comes on board, so they are working with a competitive outfit. On his move he said:
“This is a team with a rich history in Formula 1 and an organisation I know really well from my time working and living in Hinwil for four years.”
Seidl was responsible for helping McLaren to its first victory in eight years at Monza with Daniel Ricciardo in 2021 and will be remembered fondly for bringing pride back to a legendary team that had fallen so far.
Andrea Stella becomes McLaren Team Principal
With Seidl’s departure Andrea Stella has swept to the forefront. He has been with McLaren since 2015 recently in the role of Racing Director, and before that was at Ferrari for 15 years, working as engineer for the likes of Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso.
On his appointment McLaren CEO has praised Stella:
“I’m delighted that Andrea Stella will step into the Team Principal role and lead our F1 technical and operational programme. Andrea is a highly talented, experienced and respected member of our team with a strong track record of leadership and success in Formula 1.
“His move into this role is a great example of the strength in depth we have in our team, and I’m excited to be working more closely with him with a joint focus on moving up the grid and winning races.”
With the highly anticipated signing of F2 Champion Oscar Piastri and the talent of Lando Norris, yearning for his first race win McLaren and Stella are under pressure to provide a better car than last years, a difficult task Seidl has left for the incoming Stella.
F1 in 2023
With teams changing across the grid from drivers to their personnel, we can expect a lot of change and excitement from F1 in 2023. It is a season that cannot be missed and with the sport in more demand than ever now is the time to buy tickets for a race. Packages for the more elite amongst you give you access to the paddock and all the glamour Formula 1 has to offer. Worried about spending it alone? Why not take a friend or a London escort with you, to help you stand out in the world of fast cars and glitz and glamour.
