Andreas Seidl is leaving McLaren to join Audi’s F1 programme
Andreas Seidl is leaving his position as McLaren Team Principal to lead Audi’s burgeoning Formula 1 program at the Alfa Romeo/Sauber team.
The 46-year-old German will be replaced at McLaren by Italian Andrea Stella, who has been Executive Racing Director since 2019.
McLaren Racing Chief Executive Officer Zak Brown described Stella as “highly talented, experienced and respected”.
Stella begins his role effective immediately. Seidl will take up his position at Sauber in January.
Seidl’s role as Chief Executive will be to gradually improve the team’s performance to allow Audi to make its debut in as competitive a form as possible when its entry coincides with F1’s new engine regulations.
Industry sources say he will oversee the entire Audi F1 programme, both car and engine, and will appoint a team principal in good time to run and report to the day-to-day operations. The current Alfa Romeo/Sauber team principal Frederic Vasseur joins Ferrari.
Seidl was also approached by Ferrari as a possible replacement for Mattia Binotto, but according to insiders, he is said to have preferred to take a position at Audi.
With his move, Seidl returns to a leading motorsport role within the Volkswagen Group – he was head of Porsche’s successful endurance racing program before joining McLaren.
He was also an engineer with the Sauber team when it belonged to BMW between 2006 and 2009.
Seidl said: “This is a team with a rich history in Formula 1 and an organization that I know very well from my time working and living in Hinwil for four years.”
Lando Norriswho joined McLaren in 2019, tweeted that it had been “mega” to work with Seidl, adding: “I’ve never seen our team look as strong as they do now and part of that is thanks to the work that you have done. “
Audi announced in October that it would take over Sauber for its debut in Formula 1 in 2026.
In 2023, the Switzerland-based team will race its final year under the Alfa Romeo brand, which has received financial support since 2018.
The team will continue to compete as Sauber with Ferrari engines in 2024 and 2025 while preparing for Audi’s official entry.
Andrea Stella joined McLaren in 2015 as Head of Racing Operations
From 2015 to 2017, Seidl led Porsche to three consecutive victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles in the World Endurance Championship before moving to McLaren after Porsche discontinued the programme.
He was instrumental in reviving McLaren from their all-time low in late 2018 when they finished the season with the slowest car on the grid.
Since then, McLaren has established itself as the leading team behind the Big Three, winning its first race since 2012 at the Italian Grand Prix in 2021 and expecting to make further progress after a new wind tunnel becomes operational mid-next year.
His departure is seen as a blow to McLaren as he has made a strong impression in Formula 1, but Brown is confident Stella will be a capable replacement.
Brown said: “Andrea is a highly talented, experienced and respected member of our team with a strong track record of leadership and success in Formula 1.”
Stella will lead McLaren’s technical and operational programme, leading the team after a long career as a technical director in Formula 1.
He was a race engineer at Ferrari from 2000 to 2014, working with Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and then Fernando Alonso.
When Alonso left Ferrari for McLaren in late 2014, Stella decided to go with him, first as head of racing operations, then in 2018 as head of performance and in 2019 as head of racing.
Since 2019, he has been one of the three leaders of the team under Seidl, along with technical director James Key and production director Piers Thynne.
Stella said he feels “privileged” by his new position, adding: “We’re realistic about the amount of work that lies ahead of us to get back on the starting lineup, but I’m excited and encouraged that I I am on this journey alongside a full team of talent, experience, racing spirit and dedication.”
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