Who are the 2025 F1 team principals?

With only two out of 10 teams running an unchanged driver line-up in 2025, all eyes will be on how these moves play out when the season begins. But this isn’t the only area where there have been some changes, as some outfits on the grid will also welcome a new team principal.

Here is all you need to know about the 2025 team principals for each squad, with the full list at the bottom of the page.

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What does an F1 team principal do?

The team principal is the person in charge of an F1 team. The role involves overseeing various functions, which includes managing the drivers, engineers and many other employees of the squad both at the track and at headquarters.

Team principals are also generally held responsible for the outfit’s level of performance, meaning that, while they might be celebrated if things are going well, they may have some tough questions to answer if the squad suffers a downturn in form.

Alongside this, the role is a public-facing one and the team principals regularly have to face the world’s media during race weekends and at other times during the season.

Some team principals hold additional responsibilities in the company; for example, the likes of Christian Horner, Toto Wolff and Andy Cowell also act as CEO of their respective squads as well as being Team Principal.

What is the typical background of an F1 team principal?

This can vary – some team principals are former racers, while several have come into the role after previously working as an engineer. Others may possess a combination of different experiences, so there are seemingly a variety of paths to the role.

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Who are the F1 team principals for each team in 2025?

McLaren – Andrea Stella

Andrea Stella has been Team Principal at McLaren since December 2022. The Italian started his F1 career with Ferrari as a test team performance engineer, before going on to work with Michael Schumacher on the race team from 2002 onwards during the team’s title-winning run.

He went on to act as a race engineer for the likes of Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso, and moved alongside the latter to McLaren in 2015 where he became Performance Director and then Executive Director, Racing.

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After his promotion to Team Principal, McLaren have enjoyed a rapid ascent which culminated in them battling for both championships in 2024. While Lando Norris missed out on the Drivers’ title, the team claimed their first Constructors’ crown since 1998.

Ferrari – Fred Vasseur

Following the exit of former Team Principal Mattia Binotto at the end of 2022, Fred Vasseur took over the role at Ferrari ahead of the 2023 season. The Frenchman was no stranger to leading an F1 team, having previously acted in the position at Renault in 2016 before a stint with Alfa Romeo from 2017 to 2022.

Prior to this, Vasseur enjoyed success running his own teams in the junior formulae; this saw him co-found the ART Grand Prix outfit with Nicolas Todt, which then claimed titles with Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

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All eyes will be on the reunion between Vasseur and Hamilton in 2024 as the seven-time World Champion prepares to start his new era as a Ferrari driver.

Red Bull – Christian Horner

The longest-serving team boss amongst the 2025 line-up is Christian Horner, the man in charge of Red Bull since the squad first joined the grid back in 2005.

After starting his motorsport career as a racing driver, Horner founded the Arden team – that experienced success in junior formulae – with his father Garry before being appointed as Team Principal at Red Bull ahead of the squad’s Formula 1 debut in 2005, with the drinks company having purchased the former Jaguar F1 outfit.

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Horner has been in charge throughout many highs and lows for the team; this has included two runs of consecutive championships, the first being with Sebastian Vettel between 2010 and 2013 while Max Verstappen has claimed every Drivers’ title from 2021 to 2024, with the team also earning the Constructors’ crown in 2022 and 2023.

Mercedes – Toto Wolff

Another familiar face amongst the team bosses is Toto Wolff, who has been at the helm of Mercedes since 2013. Like Horner, Wolff was a racer himself before focusing his attentions on the worlds of business and investments.

After investing in the Williams F1 team and becoming an Executive Director, Wolff became a Managing Partner at Mercedes in 2013 as well as acquiring a 30% stake in the outfit.

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In the years that followed the Austrian enjoyed huge success with the Silver Arrows, the team going on to win back-to-back Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles from 2014 through to 2020, as well as taking the Constructors’ in 2021.

Wolff has also increased his stake in the team and become CEO alongside his Team Principal role.

Aston Martin – Andy Cowell

It’s all change at Aston Martin in 2025, with Andy Cowell becoming Team Principal as well as acting as CEO. The Briton started his motorsport career as an engineer for Cosworth, where he eventually worked in the company’s F1 engine division.

Following a move to Mercedes in 2004, Cowell progressed through the ranks to ultimately become Managing Director of Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, with those engines helping the Silver Arrows to enjoy a period of dominance during the turbo-hybrid era in the 2010s.

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After leaving to pursue other opportunities in 2020, Cowell took over from Martin Whitmarsh as Aston Martin’s new CEO in October 2024 – and the news followed three months later that he would also take the Team Principal position previously held by Mike Krack, who moves to the role of Chief Trackside Officer.

Alpine – Oliver Oakes

After the departure of Bruno Famin was confirmed during last year’s Belgian Grand Prix weekend, Alpine later announced that Oliver Oakes would become their new Team Principal following the sport’s summer break.

Oakes – the second youngest person to take on the role in the sport’s history at 36 years old – had previously been a racing driver himself, having won karting championships before moving up to single-seaters. But after one GP3 Series campaign in 2010, he turned his focus to management.

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The Briton helped to form the Hitech team, which continues to compete in various junior categories and finished the 2024 Formula 2 campaign in fourth place. After making the move to Alpine, Oakes will be hoping to help the Enstone-based outfit progress further after ending last season in P6.

Haas – Ayao Komatsu

When the news emerged that Guenther Steiner would leave his role as Team Principal at Haas in January 2024, another long-term member of the squad – engineer Ayao Komatsu – was soon confirmed as his replacement.

After starting out on BAR Honda’s test team in 2003, Komatsu went on to join Renault in 2006 where he worked as a performance engineer and subsequently a race engineer. The Japanese engineer later moved to Haas to become Chief Race Engineer when the American outfit arrived on the grid in 2016.

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Since Komatsu’s promotion to Team Principal, Haas enjoyed a solid outing in 2024 which saw them end the campaign in seventh place, only just missing out to Alpine in the battle for sixth.

Racing Bulls – Laurent Mekies

Another name to embark on their first season as a team principal in 2024 was Laurent Mekies, who took over at the Racing Bulls outfit following the departure of long-serving boss Franz Tost.

Mekies started his F1 career as a race engineer at Minardi – which later became the then-named Toro Rosso team – before moving to the FIA as Safety Director and F1 Deputy Race Director. In 2018 he joined Ferrari as Sporting Director and eventually became Deputy Team Principal and Racing Director.

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Amid part of a leadership restructure at Racing Bulls, Mekies began his new chapter as Team Principal at the beginning of 2024, a season in which the outfit finished in P8 of the Constructors’ Championship.

Williams – James Vowles

Amongst the engineers-turned-team principals line-up is James Vowles, who first joined what was then the BAR team back in 2001 before progressing through the ranks during the outfit’s guises as Honda, Brawn GP and Mercedes.

This saw the Briton become Chief Strategist, a role that helped Brawn GP to achieve their surprise championship success in 2009. Vowles experienced further triumphs with the Silver Arrows during the team’s consecutive run of titles between 2014 and 2021, having been promoted to Motorsport Strategy Director in 2019.

READ MORE: Williams sign Oliver Turvey from McLaren in test and development role

Vowles departed the squad to join Williams as Team Principal at the start of 2023, with the Grove-based outfit looking to work their way back towards the front of the pack.

Kick Sauber – Jonathan Wheatley (Start date TBC)

The newest team principal due to arrive is Jonathan Wheatley, with the announcement being made in August 2024 that the Briton would leave his role as Red Bull’s Sporting Director to take on the new challenge at Kick Sauber.

After a stint with the Benetton/Renault team from 1991 to 2005 – in which he progressed to the position of Chief Mechanic – Wheatley joined Red Bull in 2006 and in the years since has witnessed the squad enjoy huge levels of success.

READ MORE: Alessandro Alunni Bravi to leave Team Representative role at Kick Sauber

With Wheatley entering a period of gardening leave following his Red Bull departure, a start date in his new role is yet to be confirmed ahead of Sauber’s transition into becoming Audi’s works outfit in 2026.

Elsewhere former Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto acts as the team's Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer.

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