UNITED KINGDOM: McLaren on Tuesday announced that Andreas Seidl had resigned from the team and that Andrea Stella would take his place as the team’s principal.
Andreas Seidl joins Sauber after leaving McLaren
There were rumblings that the “team boss silly season” was far from over, as the team boss announcements focussed everyone’s attention on Ferrari after the confirmation that Fred Vasseur would succeed Mattia Binotto as their team boss in 2023.
Andreas Seidl, who joined McLaren four years ago, was also the centre of attention over who Sauber would announce as the replacement for Ferrari-bound Vasseur.
This was confirmed on Tuesday morning when McLaren announced Andrea Stella as their new boss and announced Seidl’s departure.
After that, Alfa Romeo announced that Seidl was appointed CEO of the Sauber F1 team. However, the announcement didn’t confirm his role as the team principal after the Hinwil-based team released Vasseur to Ferrari.
Mattia Binotto did the same thing in late November when Ferrari announced that he had resigned, just as Sebastian Vettel did in late July when he sparked interest in driver positions.
According to insiders in F1, Fred Vasseur would be taking Binotto’s seat almost immediately. Ferrari confirmed the rumours on Tuesday morning.
McLaren announced Seidl’s departure shortly after confirming Vasseur’s move to Ferrari. The German had led McLaren for four years.
The Woking group subsequently announced Andrea Stella, who joined McLaren in 2015 and was elevated to Executive Director of Racing in 2019, as the new team principal.
McLaren F1’s CEO, Zak Brown, expressed his delight over Andrea Stella’s promotion to Team Principal and was upbeat that Stella would lead McLaren’s F1 technical and operational program.
He added that Andrea has a strong track record of leadership and success in F1. Brown praised his new team boss, saying he is highly talented, experienced, and well-liked.
Brown felt excited to work more closely with Stella, saying the team focuses on moving up the grid and winning races in the upcoming F1 seasons.
This year, Sauber, competing under the name of Alfa Romeo, finished sixth in the constructors’ standings, its best performance in a decade. Additionally, the team has partnered with Audi to operate as a works F1 team when it joins the grid in 2026.
Later in the day, the Williams F1 team announced the departure of Jost Capito as the team principal. Capito had led Williams for two seasons after replacing Simon Roberts in 2020.
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