Of the 10 teams on the grid in F1 2025, which can lay claim to having the most experienced boss?
There has been a significant turnover of Formula 1 team principals in recent seasons, with only a couple having lasted longer than three years in their current roles. So, let’s take a look at all of Formula 1’s team bosses, and how long they have each held their current posts.
F1 team principals: How long has each one been in post?
Toto Wolff (Mercedes) – Date of appointment: January 2013
Having made his entrance into Formula 1 as a co-owner of the Williams team, Wolff went on to buy a stake in the Mercedes outfit too. He left Williams in January of 2013, albeit remaining a co-owner at the time, to take over as executive director at Mercedes.
Building on the foundations laid by Ross Brawn, Wolff oversaw Mercedes’ rampage through the sport as they claimed eight Constructors’ Championships in a row between 2014-2021, plus seven consecutive Drivers’ Championships from 2014-2020. It was a streak of the likes Formula 1 had not seen before.
Frederic Vasseur (Ferrari) – Date of appointment: December 2022
Onto the most recent appointments now which started with Vasseur, who bid farewell to Alfa Romeo to take over as Ferrari principal, Mattia Binotto announcing that he would resign from the role at the end of 2022.
A constant in the world of Formula 1 since 2016, Vasseur’s appointment makes him Ferrari’s first non-Italian team boss since 2007, at which time Vasseur’s fellow Frenchman Jean Todt was preparing to hand over the reins to Stefano Domenicali.
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Andrea Stella (McLaren) – Date of appointment: December 2022
After it was revealed that Andreas Seidl would become the new CEO of Sauber, McLaren quickly confirmed the promotion of Stella from racing director to team principal.
It marked the first time that Stella had held a team principal role in Formula 1, and oversaw McLaren’s first Constructors’ Championship in 26 years when they claimed the 2024 title.
James Vowles (Williams) – Date of appointment: January 2023
It was the announcement of Jost Capito’s Williams departure which served as the initial shock in that year’s team boss ‘silly season’, the confirmation that he and Williams’ technical director FX Demaison were both leaving had not been expected.
The team would move to appoint James Vowles, who left his role as Mercedes’ strategy chief to become a team principal for the first time with Williams.
He has set about a full sweep of improving the infrastructure in place at Williams, with a view to putting the team back at the top table of Formula 1 in the coming years.
Ayao Komatsu (Haas) – Date of appointment: January 2024
Ayao Komatsu succeeded Guenther Steiner at Haas ahead of the 2024 season, becoming Haas’ second team principal.
Komatsu at been with the team as trackside engineering director to that point, having joined in 2016, following Romain Grosjean to the operation from Enstone.
There, he’d worked as a race engineer, first with Vitaly Petrov and then with Grosjean in 2012, and was eventually promoted to chief race engineer.
Andy Cowell (Aston Martin) – Date of appointment: January 2025
Aston Martin announced an organisational restructure in 2025 that confirmed Andy Cowell, who began a new role as Group CEO at the team two months beforehand in October 2024, would take on a dual role of CEO and team principal.
Previous team principal, Mike Krack, would remain with the team in a revised role of ‘chief trackside officer’, meaning Krack would still lead on the trackside operations at race weekends – but Cowell would take on overall responsibility as team principal moving forward, with the team confirming this was a move “for clarity of leadership and as part of a shift to a flatter structure” within the company.
Long-time Mercedes engine chief Cowell would be taking on his first team principal role in the process as part of this shift, though would still be supported by Krack in his operations.
Jonathan Wheatley (Sauber/Audi F1) – Date of appointment: April 2025
Red Bull announced the departure of long-serving sporting director Jonathan Wheatley in mid-2024, and it was soon confirmed that he would become Audi F1’s first Formula 1 team principal ahead of their highly anticipated F1 2026 arrival.
Wheatley officially took up his new position with the existing Sauber time on April 1 2025, five days before that year’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Flavio Briatore (Alpine) – Date of appointment: May 2025
Oliver Oakes – only appointed by Alpine back in July 2024 – resigned shortly following the 2025 Miami Grand Prix, after less than a year in the role.
“Personal” reasons were cited by Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore for Oakes’s exit, and following that development, Briatore would assume the Brit’s responsibilities, as he returned to the helm of the team which he previously led to championship glory under their Benetton and Renault identities.
Steve Nielsen (Alpine) – Date of appointment: July 2025
A stalwart of the F1 paddock, Nielsen was appointed managing director of Alpine in early July, 2025.
His appointment came in response to Oliver Oakes’ resignation and saw him join from Formula One Management, where he’d worked as sporting director for the organisation. Prior to that he had a brief tenure with the FIA following a long spell among the teams.
That included over a decade with Benetton, where he worked with Flavio Briatore, the man who hired him to lead the Enstone team.
Laurent Mekies (Red Bull) – Date of appointment: July 2025
Announced as Christian Horner’s successor at Red Bull, it was an internal promotion of sorts for Laurent Mekies. Prior to his shock promotion, Mekies had been team principal of Racing Bulls, where he’d taken over from Franz Tost following the Austrian’s retirement at the end of 2023.
He took on the role after leaving Ferrari, where he had been racing director.
Mekies only became only the second team principal at both Red Bull and Racing Bulls since the energy drinks company acquired them.
The Frenchman had also served as Ferrari’s deputy team principal alongside his duties as racing director.
Alan Permane (Racing Bulls) – Date of appointment: July 2025
After more than two decades at Enstone, and through the many guises the operation had, Alan Permane left the organisation midway through the 2023 season – one of two senior departures alongside Otmar Szafnauer.
He quickly found a new home after he was appointed racing director of Racing Bulls in time for the 2024 season. The Brit was then promoted to team principal of the Faenza operation midway through the 2025 campaign when Laurent Mekies was promoted in place of Christian Horner at Red Bull.
Recently replaced team bosses:
Christian Horner (Red Bull) – Date of appointment: January 2005. Date of departure: July 2025
Having retired from racing at the age of only 25, Horner started pursuing a career in management, buying a stake in the Arden International team which has enjoyed plenty of success in the junior racing scene.
But as Horner looked for a route into Formula 1, Red Bull gave him that opportunity by appointing him team principal of their new outfit at the start of 2005, following their purchase of Jaguar.
Horner has remained in charge ever since, the team having won six Constructors’ Championships in that time, plus seven Drivers’ titles courtesy of Sebastian Vettel (four) and Max Verstappen (three).
Oliver Oakes (Alpine) – Date of appointment: July 2024. Date of departure: May 2025.
In replacing Bruno Famin as he stepped back from team principal duties, Oliver Oakes became the second-youngest team principal in the history of Formula 1 when the then-36-year-old was announced as the new team boss at Alpine.
That saw the Hitech GP founder step up from the junior categories to test himself in Formula 1 for the first time.
But, in May 2025, he would step down from the Alpine team principal role.
Alessandro Alunni Bravi (Sauber) – Date of appointment: January 2023. Date of departure: January 2025.
When it was confirmed that former team boss Fred Vasseur was swapping Alfa Romeo for Ferrari, the team was quick to enlist the services of Andreas Seidl, but as its CEO, not team principal.
In January 2023, the team confirmed the new appointment, albeit giving their signing an unusual job title. Alessandro Alunni Bravi began as Alfa Romeo’s ‘team representative’ in 2023, taking on the duties of the team principal but without that official title.
Alunni Bravi spent two years in that position, before announcing his departure at the end of January 2025. He’s since joined McLaren as its chief business affairs officer.
Mike Krack (Aston Martin) – Date of appointment: January 2022. Date of new role: January 2025.
Mike Krack was brought into the fold at Aston Martin following the departure of former team boss Otmar Szafnauer.
Formerly the head of BMW’s motorsport operation, Krack was tasked with realising the goal of Aston Martin’s owner Lawrence Stroll, who wants to see the team fighting at the very front of the Formula 1 grid in the coming years.
Technically still in a senior position at Aston Martin as ‘chief trackside officer’, Krack was officially replaced as team principal by Andy Cowell when Aston Martin announced an organisational restructure in January 2025.
Bruno Famin (Alpine) – Date of appointment: July 2023. Date of departure: July 2024
Bruno Famin took on interim duties as Alpine’s team principal after the sudden departure of Otmar Szafnauer, with the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix announced as his last weekend with the team.
Famin was appointed as vice president of Alpine’s Motorsports division just a fortnight beforehand, and he has set about appointing a full-time replacement for Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane as the team made sweeping changes behind the scenes.
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