Normally, it is the F1 drivers’ market that has a silly season but in the dying weeks of 2022, team principals have got in on the act.
It started on Monday with the news that Williams CEO Jost Capito would be leaving the team and former VW Motorsport comrade FX Demaison would be following him out of the door, destination unknown.
Hot on the heels of the Williams announcement came news that Ferrari’s now vacant team principal role would be filled by Fred Vasseur, leaving Sauber/Alfa Romeo without a CEO/team principal. Vasseur has left the team on good terms, the team apparently understanding that the lure of the prancing horse was hard to resist.
He is to be replaced at Sauber by Andreas Seidl, who will depart McLaren with immediate effect. Given Sauber’s upcoming partnership with Audi, the former Porsche and BMW Motorsport man will be an ideal fit at the team as it brings the German marque back to the Grand Prix circus for the first time since its forebear, Auto Union, raced in the 1930s.
According to McLaren CEO Zak Brown, Seidl had already informed the team that he intended to join Audi when his contract expired in 2025, but Vasseur’s departure accelerated the change with Sauber negotiating Seidl’s release. The final piece of the TP merry-go-round sees Andrea Stella promoted to the role of team principal at McLaren, stepping up from his current position of executive director.
