With the news of Fred Vasseur leaving Sauber as its CEO and team principal, the Hinwil team quickly swooped in to appoint McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl as its new CEO. Seidl had worked at Sauber years ago when he was the head of trackside operations and had been the Porsche boss for the world endurance car championship where the team won the title three years in a row before his return to F1.
Seidl will not assume the role of team principal but will look to appoint one as soon as he joins the team in January. As has happened, McLaren has elevated Andreas Stella as the team principal of the team with immediate effect to retain continuity and build on top of the solid foundations that Seidl had laid out.
“It is great to join the Sauber Group from January: 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,” said Seidl.
“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,” he added.
“It is an immense pleasure to welcome Andreas Seidl back to Hinwil as CEO of the Sauber Group. Andreas’s experience is second to none and he brings to Sauber Group a clear understanding of what is required to achieve sustained success,” said Sauber chairman Finn Rausing as the company is set to get Audi as a major investor and as its engine provider from 2026 onwards.
For McLaren, it gets another experienced hand who before his current role at McLaren was with Ferrari for 15 years where he worked as the trackside engineer with Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso.
"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," said Zak Brown on the appointment of Stella.
