Who are the current team principals in F1?
Having a great team principal is essential in running a Formula 1 team, as this position is also getting more and more spotlight. GPblog presents you the list with every current team principal in the competition, following the recent changes.
Red Bull - Christian Horner
The 50-year-old Briton was appointed as team principal in January 2005, and as a result, is the longest-serving one on the current grid. At the time, Horner was only 31 years old, which makes him the youngest TP in the competition ever. As a result, he is the Austrians' only team principal ever. During his time with the team, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen have won world titles with the team, and they have earned six constructors' titles. Horner is also a CEO at Red Bull Racing.
Mercedes - Toto Wolff
The Austrian businessman joined Mercedes in 2013, but previously, he has bought shares in the Williams team. Wolff became executive director, with acquiring 30% of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd, and he sold his shares in Williams completely by 2016. By 2014, he took over completely from Norbert Haug in terms of the company's motorsports activity. He is, as a result, the second longest-serving team principal on the grid behind Horner. Together with Wolff, the German team won the constructors' championship every year from 2014 until 2021.
Ferrari - Frederic Vasseur
After a long career in feeder series and co-founding ART Grand Prix with Jean Todt, Vasseur was a team principal first at Renault, and then at Alfa Romeo/Sauber, before he joined Ferrari in 2023. He himself resigned from Renault, after having conflicts with Cyril Abiteboul. The 56-year-old Frenchman replaced Mattia Binotto at the Italian team.
McLaren - Andrea Stella
After working at Ferrari, Stella joined McLaren back in 2018 as Performance Director. The Italian was then promoted by CEO Zak Brown to become team principal in December 2022, replacing Andreas Seidl. After a difficult start to the 2023 season, McLaren have been on the rise ever since, and now constantly fight for victories. During the summer break of 2024, that earned a contract extension for the 53-year-old Italian.
Aston Martin - Mike Krack
The team principal is currently the third longest-serving TP behind Horner and Wolff at Aston Martin. He was appointed in January 2022, after Aston Martin let Otmar Szafnauer go. Krack joined the British team from BMW, where he worked on a plethora of projects. Previously, he had experience in F1 joining Sauber back in 2001, he was Felipe Massa's race engineer at the team, an stayed with BMW Sauber until 2008.
VCARB - Laurent Mekies
It was announced in 2023 that Laurent Mekies will leave his job at Ferrari, where he was a racing director, and will join the renamed VCARB team in 2024, replacing Franz Tost. He previously worked for Arrows and Minardi, and was then appointed as Toro Rosso's chief engineer when the team were first formed back in 2005. After working for the FIA, Mekies joined Ferrari in 2018, and stayed there for five years.
Williams - James Vowles
Vowles joined Williams as team principal in 2023 from Mercedes. Vowles started his career at BAR at the Brackley factory, which then became the home of Mercedes come 2010. The 45-year-old Briton was a strategy guru for Mercedes, first serving as chief strategist, and then he was named motorsport strategy director.
Alpine - Oliver Oakes
Oliver Oakes will make his debut as a Formula One team principal at the Dutch Grand Prix, after for the second time in a row, it was announced during a Belgian GP that Alpine will part ways with their TP. After Bruno Famin replaced Otmar Szafnauer in 2023, Oakes will now replace Famin. He was the team principal beforehand at Hitech GP. The Briton is also the second youngest team principal in F1's history.
Haas - Ayao Komatsu
Komatsu replaced long-serving Haas team principal Guenther Steiner following the conclusion of the 2023 season. The Japanese engineer worked at Renault, then Lotus before joining Haas, where he was also Romain Grosjean's race engineer. He joined Haas in 2016, as was the team's chief race engineer before getting the promotion.
Stake F1 (Audi) - Jonathan Wheatley (to join in 2025)
Sauber, which team will soon become Audi, are the toughest one to explain at the moment. To begin with, the team do not have a team principal, but a team representative with Alessandro Alunni Bravi. The signing of Jonathan Wheatley was recently announced by Audi, but the Briton cannot join until his gardening leave ends with Red Bull. At the Austrians, he was the sporting director. Moreover, Mattia Binotto was also appointed by the team to be COO and CTO, as a result, dividing the responsibilities with Wheatley.