Sauber has announced that McLaren’s outgoing F1 team boss Andreas Seidl will be the organization’s new Chief Executive Officer. Seidl is partly filling the vacancy left by Frederic Vasseur’s departure for Scuderia Ferrari. Vasseur has been both Sauber’s CEO and team principal for the past six seasons. However, Seidl will not be Sauber’s team principal. The first significant decision of Seidl’s tenure at Sauber will be the appointment of a new team principal.
In terms of recent performance, Andreas Seidl seems like the best possible choice for the CEO role at Sauber. Since 2019, Seidl has been McLaren’s F1 team principal and was largely credited for the British team’s improvement after the McLaren-Honda debacle. McLaren finished third in the 2020 World Constructors’ Championship and had a 1-2 finish in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. The victory at Monza was McLaren’s first F1 win since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Prior to his stint at McLaren, Andreas Seidl was Porsche’s LMP1 team boss between 2014 and 2018. Porsche won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FIA World Endurance Championship in three consecutive seasons (2015-17) under Seidl’s leadership.
On his new position, Andreas Seidl said:
“It is great to join the Sauber Group from January: this is a team with a rich history in Formula One and an organization I know really well from my time working and living in Hinwil for four years. 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 had worked for BMW during the German automaker’s most recent stint in Formula 1 from 2000 until 2009. BMW purchased Sauber in the middle of 2005 and operated the Swiss-based team as its factory team until the manufacturer’s departure from the championship. Seidl will now helm Sauber as it prepares to partner with another German automaker, Audi.
Autosport reported that McLaren CEO was informed by Seidl that he was planning on leaving McLaren for Audi in 2026, but Vasseur’s move to Ferrari accelerated the switch. McLaren has decided to promote Racing Director Andrea Stella to fill the role left by Seidl.