With just weeks to go until the 2026 season begins, the Team Principal of each F1 squad will be busy preparing for the 24-race calendar ahead. Here is the lowdown on the 11 team bosses who will be heading their respective outfits’ charges into the campaign…
Andrea Stella – McLaren
Andrea Stella’s promotion to Team Principal of McLaren in December 2022 came after a long career in the sport, which saw him first join Ferrari as a test team performance engineer in 2000. He later worked with Michael Schumacher on the race team from 2002 onwards, a championship-winning era for the squad.
The Italian transitioned to the role of race engineer for Kimi Raikkonen in 2009 before taking on the same position alongside Fernando Alonso for five years. Stella moved with the Spaniard to McLaren in 2015, becoming Head of Race Operations.
From there he was promoted to Performance Director in 2018 and then Executive Director, Racing in 2019. Since taking on the Team Principal role in December 2022, Stella and McLaren have been on an upward trajectory which has seen them claim back-to-back Teams’ Championships in 2024 and 2025, as well as taking the Drivers’ crown with Lando Norris last season.
Toto Wolff – Mercedes
Now the longest-serving current Team Principal on the grid, Toto Wolff has been at the helm of Mercedes since 2013. Following a brief racing career, Wolff switched his focus to the worlds of business and investments early on.
In 2009, the Austrian invested in the Williams F1 team and later became an Executive Director of the squad. He then became a Managing Partner at Mercedes in 2013, as well as acquiring a 30% stake in the outfit.
Wolff – who also acts as CEO of the team – headed the Silver Arrows during a hugely successful period in the years the followed, with the squad claiming both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships between 2014 and 2020 as well as earning the Teams’ crown in 2021. After climbing back up to P2 in 2025, Mercedes will be hoping to reach the very top again in 2026.
Laurent Mekies – Red Bull
For the first time in the team’s history, Red Bull will start a season with a name other than Christian Horner as their Team Principal following the exit of the Briton last July, with Laurent Mekies since stepping into the role.
Mekies’ F1 journey began as an engine race engineer for Arrows in 2001 before joining Minardi in 2002, while he became Chief Engineer when the outfit transitioned into Toro Rosso in 2006 and later Head of Vehicle Performance. The Frenchman joined the FIA in 2014, taking on the roles of Safety Director and later F1 Deputy Race Director before being appointed Sporting Director at Ferrari in 2018.
After progressing to Racing Director in 2021, Mekies parted ways with the Scuderia midway through 2023 as he prepared to move to the then-called AlphaTauri outfit as Team Principal in 2024. This was a role he remained in until getting the call-up to replace Horner at Red Bull midway through 2025, where he led the team through a resurgence in the second half of that campaign.
Fred Vasseur – Ferrari
Over at Ferrari, Fred Vasseur will act as Team Principal for a fourth season in 2026, the Frenchman having taken on the role at the start of the 2023 campaign.
Prior to arriving into Formula 1, Vasseur experienced success through running his own teams in the junior categories, having co-founded the championship-winning ART Grand Prix outfit with Nicolas Todt. He later became Team Principal of the Renault F1 team in 2016 before heading the Sauber/Alfa Romeo outfit between 2017 and 2022.
During his time at Ferrari, Vasseur has been involved in one of the biggest driver moves in the sport’s history following the signing of Lewis Hamilton for 2025.
James Vowles – Williams
Another person who took the reigns at their team in 2023 is James Vowles, Team Principal of Williams. The Briton’s F1 career began as an engineer with BAR back in 2001, where he went on to progress through the ranks during the outfit’s guises as Honda, Brawn GP and Mercedes.
Vowles acted as Chief Strategist during Brawn GP’s championship-winning campaign in 2009, while he went on to experience further success across Mercedes’ run of titles between 2014 and 2021, having been promoted to Motorsport Strategy Director in 2019.
Since joining Williams at the start of 2023, Vowles has led the Grove-based outfit through their continued mission to return to the top, claiming a ‘best of the race’ fifth place in the 2025 Teams’ Championship.
Alan Permane – Racing Bulls
The Red Bull reshuffle midway through 2025 saw Alan Permane move to the role of Team Principal at Racing Bulls, marking the latest step in a lengthy career in the sport for the Briton.
After completing an electronic engineering apprenticeship, Permane joined the then-called Benetton team in 1989. He would subsequently remain with the Enstone-based outfit through to 2023 across their various guises, progressing through the engineering ranks with roles including Race Engineer and ultimately Sporting Director.
Amid organisational changes during the 2023 season, Permane exited the team before returning to F1 with Racing Bulls – then known as RB – for the 2024 campaign in the position of Racing Director. His promotion to Team Principal followed in 2025 in the wake of Mekies’ departure to Red Bull.
Adrian Newey – Aston Martin
A name that needs little introduction, Adrian Newey has carved out a reputation as one of the sport’s most famed and successful designers, with his creations for the likes of Williams, McLaren and Red Bull winning numerous championships.
Following his stints with the two former teams, Newey joined Red Bull in 2006 for what would be his longest partnership with a squad, remaining with the Milton Keynes-based outfit until the news of his impending exit was announced in May 2024.
Amid months of speculation over his next move, it was later confirmed that Newey would take on the role of Managing Technical Partner at Aston Martin in 2025 – and, amid an organisational restructure, it has since been announced that the Briton will also act as Team Principal of the outfit in 2026.
Ayao Komatsu – Haas
Ayao Komatsu enters into his third season as Team Principal of Haas in 2026, having worked his way up following his arrival in F1 as an engineer for the BAR outfit back in 2003.
Komatsu went on to join Renault in 2006 as a performance engineer and subsequently a race engineer, working with drivers including Vitaly Petrov and Romain Grosjean. Like Grosjean, the Japanese engineer left for the newly-formed Haas team in 2016.
After acting as Trackside Engineering Director for several years, Komatsu was promoted to the role of Team Principal following the exit of Guenther Steiner at the start of 2024, a season in which the outfit recovered to P7 in the championship.
Jonathan Wheatley – Audi
Over at Audi, Jonathan Wheatley continues on as Team Principal following his arrival at the team – under its former guise as Kick Sauber – in April 2025.
Starting out as a junior mechanic for Benetton in 1991, Wheatley rose to the role of Chief Mechanic during his time with the Enstone-based outfit, which was brought to an end when he joined Red Bull in 2006.
Taking on the position of Sporting Director, the Briton was a part of the squad across numerous championship victories before his exit was announced in August 2024 as he prepared to become Team Principal of Kick Sauber in 2025. Wheatley will now lead the team into their first campaign as Audi following the manufacturer’s takeover of the outfit.
Steve Nielsen/Flavio Briatore – Alpine
Following the exit of former Alpine Team Principal Oliver Oakes in May 2025, Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore took over the duties previously covered by Oakes, while Steve Nielsen was later hired as Managing Director to oversee the day-to-day running of the team.
Reporting to Briatore, Nielsen has vast experience in the sport, having spent a large part of his earlier career with the Enstone-based outfit before going on to hold positions for commercial rights holder F1 and the FIA.
Briatore, meanwhile, returned to Formula 1 in his current role with Alpine in 2024. The Italian previously experienced championship success at the outfit during their Benetton days in the early 1990s, as well as winning further titles with Fernando Alonso when the squad became Renault in the 2000s.
Graeme Lowdon – Cadillac
Cadillac will make their F1 debut in 2026 as they became the 11th team on the grid – but they have an experienced name leading their charge, with Graeme Lowdon having been recruited as the squad’s Team Principal.
Lowdon has knowledge of setting up a new outfit, having previously brought Virgin Racing into the sport in 2010. He continued to run the team through its subsequent guise as Marussia before exiting prior to the squad’s final season in 2016.
After working on various other projects – including acting as part of Zhou Guanyu’s management team – the Briton’s position with Cadillac was announced in December 2024, with his time since spent preparing for the American squad’s maiden Formula 1 campaign.
