Seidl steps aside to Sauber, McLaren appoint Stella

To complete a crazy day in F1 silly season, McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl is moving to Sauber as the team’s new Chief Executive Officer in January.

It comes after Sauber CEO Frederic Vasseur left the team he has led for five years to replace Mattia Binotto at Ferrari, opening the door for Seidl to take on a new challenge.His replacement at Woking will be experienced engineer Andrea Stella.

Despite the appointment of Seidl, who oversaw Porsche’s successful LMP1 program and McLaren’s rise from back marker to podium contender in recent years, he will not be the Sauber team principal.

Andreas Seidl has packed his bags and is leaving McLaren and heading to Sauber. Photo by Steven Tee / LAT Images

Instead the highly respected German will be the CEO and help Sauber appoint someone to fill the team principal role once he moves to the Swiss team in the new year.

The appointment is a shrewd move for Sauber, which will become an Audi factory team from 2026 with Seidl playing a key role in Le Mans success of the German manufacturer’s sister company Porsche.

It is also a reunion for the German, who has previously worked at the Swiss team as Head of Trackside Operations there for several years and he cannot wait to resume the relationship in a new era.

“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.”

Seidl’s home for the last three years, McLaren, has moved swiftly to announce Stella as its new team principal for 2023.

Andrea Stella (ITA) McLaren Race Engineer at Formula One World Championship, Rd1, Australian Grand Prix, Practice, Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia, Friday 13 March 2015.

The team in papaya has promoted from within with the experienced Italian engineer, who has been at Woking since 2015, having worked at Scuderia Ferrari for 15 years beforehand where he worked closely with the likes of Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso.

Stella will step up from the the role of executive director of racing to team principal and is “privileged” by the elevation.

“I feel privileged to take on the Team Principal role as the next stage of being part of the McLaren F1 Team” he said.

“I am grateful to Zak (Brown) and the Shareholders for their trust in me and to all my colleagues and those who have supported me throughout my F1 career.

“We are realistic about the amount of work ahead of us to move back up the grid, but I am excited and encouraged that I am in this journey together with a team full of talent, experience, racing spirit and dedication.

“I look forward to working closely with each of them, Lando and Oscar, to together achieving great success and enjoying the journey.”

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