F1 team principals: How long has each team boss been in charge?

There is already a new F1 team principals in town for 2025, so which of the teams have the most experienced bosses?

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?

Christian Horner (Red Bull) – Date of appointment: January 2005

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).

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.

PlanetF1.com recommends

👉 F1 2026 driver line-up: Which drivers are already confirmed for the 2026 grid?

👉 F1 schedule: When is the next F1 race and where is it being held?

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.

Laurent Mekies (VCARB) – Date of appointment: December 2023

Another of the F1 team principals to be in his first such role, Laurent Mekies made the move from Ferrari as racing director to replace the long-serving Franz Tost at the end of 2023, following Tost’s retirement.

Mekies only becomes Red Bull’s junior team’s second team principal as a result, after Tost had been with them since their formation in 2005, but it actually marks a return to the Faenza-based team for Mekies, who formerly worked there as a race engineer in their days as Minardi.

Having served as Ferrari’s deputy team principal alongside his duties as racing director, he made the step up for 2024.

Oliver Oakes (Alpine) – Date of appointment: July 2024

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.

The Hitech GP founder stepped up to Formula 1 for the first time after a successful stint managing his team in the junior categories, taking on leadership duties at Team Enstone in his first top role in Formula 1 in the process.

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: July 2025 “at the latest”]

Red Bull announced the departure of long-time sporting director Jonathan Wheatley in mid-2024, and it was confirmed he would be becoming Audi’s first Formula 1 team principal when they joined the sport in 2026.

Alessandro Alunni Bravi left Sauber in early 2025, but Wheatley was still widely believed to be under his gardening leave period with Red Bull when this was the case.

Team principal duties at Sauber were uncertain heading into the 2025 season, then, but they had strong experience to tide them over in that regard in COO and CTO Mattia Binotto, who previously led Ferrari.

Audi confirmed in their announcement of Wheatley that he would be heading to the team by July 2025 “at the latest”, leaving a portion of the 2025 season for the team to navigate before he would take up his new position.

Recently replaced team bosses:

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 their 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.

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.

Read next: Where are they now? The 24 F1 drivers who raced in F1 2003