As well as two drivers, every F1 outfit needs a team boss – but who are the 11 figures carrying out this crucial role up and down the grid? Following on from our driver contracts list, we outline each team’s leading figure and the deals they have signed…
McLaren
Andrea Stella
Andrea Stella joined McLaren from Ferrari back in 2015, initially serving as Head of Race Operations and Performance Director before becoming Executive Director of Racing in 2019. He then stepped up to the role of Team Principal in 2022, working directly under CEO Zak Brown.
In the years since, McLaren have gone from struggles towards the back of the grid to winning multiple world titles, with Stella committed to the Woking-based outfit under a long-term contract extension that he signed midway through the 2024 season.
“His excellent leadership, expertise and the respect he holds within the team and Formula 1 means we could not have a better person in place to continue the pursuit of consistently fighting at the front of the grid,” said Brown after the renewal.
“His impact on McLaren F1 in his role as Team Principal has been profound, not only through our results on track and the trajectory of the team but also in his development of our culture and mindset.”
Mercedes
Toto Wolff
After a spell at Williams, former racing driver Toto Wolff became a Managing Partner of Mercedes in 2013, as well as acquiring a 30% stake in the outfit. Still at the helm today, he is now the longest-serving current team boss in the sport.
Wolff oversaw an incredible run of success under F1’s turbo-hybrid regulations, with the Silver Arrows winning both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships every season from 2014 to 2020, and earning the Teams’ crown in 2021.
In January 2024, Wolff agreed a new three-year deal to remain in charge at Mercedes, keeping him in place for the start of F1’s latest rules reset, which the team have so far aced to lead the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships once more.
Referencing fellow team co-owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe (of Ineos) and Ola Kallenius (of Mercedes-Benz) upon signing that extension, Wolff said: “I think the most important thing between the three of us is that we trust each other. At the end of the day, as a shareholder myself, I want the best return on investment. And the best return on investment is winning.
“I’m not going to try to hang on to a position that I think somebody is going to do better than me. I make sure that I have people around who can tell me otherwise. In the end the three of us decided: ‘Let’s do it again’.”
Wolff is also supported by long-time Mercedes F1 communications chief Bradley Lord, who recently assumed the role of Deputy Team Principal.
Red Bull
Laurent Mekies
Laurent Mekies took on team boss duties at Red Bull midway through 2025, in place of Christian Horner, having carried out the same role with their sister team, Racing Bulls, up until that point. He previously held roles at Arrows, Minardi/Toro Rosso, F1 governing body the FIA, and Ferrari.
Mekies steadied the ship after Red Bull’s difficult start to the aforementioned campaign, resulting in a second-half resurgence with Max Verstappen that came just two points shy of a remarkable title win, and then guided the team into their first term without Horner at the helm.
While Red Bull have seen several key figures leave for rival outfits in recent times, and are due to lose another in Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase by 2028, Mekies has been tasked with writing a new chapter of success in the years to come.
“There is only one desire at Red Bull, and it goes from the board to anybody – they are here to fight for wins and fight for championships, so that’s what naturally the target is,” said Mekies shortly after he was installed as Team Principal.
“It’s not the new target, it’s just a renewed commitment from the team and from the group, to say, ‘We’ll do everything we need to do to continue doing so in the future’.”
Ferrari
Fred Vasseur
Fred Vasseur arrived as Ferrari’s team boss in 2023, building on periods in charge with Renault in 2016 and Sauber/Alfa Romeo between 2017 and 2022, as well as the junior championship-winning ART Grand Prix outfit he co-founded with Nicolas Todt.
While the Scuderia are still yet to end a title drought stretching back to 2008, which has led to occasional speculation over Vasseur’s future, the famous marque reiterated their belief in the Frenchman by handing him a new multi-year contract last summer.
“His ability to lead under pressure, embrace innovation and pursue performance aligns fully with Ferrari’s values and long-term ambitions,” read a statement from Ferrari announcing Vasseur’s new deal.
“Under Fred’s leadership, Ferrari is united, focused and committed to continuous improvement. The trust placed in him reflects the team’s confidence in its strategic direction and reinforces a shared determination to deliver the results that Ferrari’s fans, drivers and team members expect and deserve.”
Vasseur himself added: “We know what’s expected, and we’re all fully committed to meeting those expectations and taking the next step forward together.”
Williams
James Vowles
James Vowles became a Team Principal for the first time with Williams in 2023 – making the step after some two decades at ‘Team Brackley’, where he started out as an engineer for BAR and steadily climbed the ranks through their Honda, Brawn GP and Mercedes guises.
After years of disappointing results for Williams, Vowles worked hard behind the scenes to get them back on a path to race- and title-winning ways, with 2025 bringing an impressive rise to fifth in the Teams’ Championship behind the ‘big four’ squads of McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari.
Before that position was secured, Vowles signed a new long-term contract to continue as team boss, commenting: “This iconic team has already given me some incredible memories and we are all united in our ambition to build on our legacy and win World Championships again.
“Over the past two years we have focused on fixing the foundations, and now have a platform to go for glory in the years to come.”
Matthew Savage, Chairman of Williams and owners Dorilton Capital, added that Vowles “has brought experience, energy and strategic leadership to the task of restoring Williams to the top step of the podium.
“We aren’t there yet but you can sense the momentum we are building at Grove and are excited about what lies ahead.”
Racing Bulls
Alan Permane
Alan Permane was handed the reins at Racing Bulls following Mekies’ promotion to the senior Red Bull team. A hugely experienced F1 figure, he previously spent more than 30 years at Enstone under the various Benetton, Renault, Lotus and Alpine monikers.
“Alan is the perfect man to take over now and continue our path,” said Mekies during their Racing Bulls/Red Bull handover. “He knows the team inside out and has always been an important pillar of our early successes.”
“It’s not something that’s ever been on my radar, but when Red Bull come knocking, you can’t say no, and it’s a fantastic opportunity, of course, for me,” Permane smiled after stepping into hot seat.
Half a year on, via a strong sixth-place classification in the 2025 Teams’ Championship, Permane said of his developing role: “I’m loving it. It’s certainly a little bit easier now that I’ve had some time under my belt, let’s say, after the shock of it all happening so quickly!”
Aston Martin
Adrian Newey
The latest in a long line of managerial changes at Aston Martin over recent seasons, F1 design guru Adrian Newey added Team Principal duties to his existing role of Managing Technical Partner just a few months after joining the squad last March.
Newey boasts more than 200 Grand Prix victories, and 14 Drivers’ and 12 Constructors’ titles, across stints at Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, but like Vowles and Permane above, it is the first time he has led an F1 operation.
“I’m looking forward to taking on this additional role as we put ourselves in the best possible position to compete in 2026, where we will face an entirely new position with Aston Martin now a works team combined with the considerable challenge faced by the new regulations,” said the Briton, who took over from previous team boss Andy Cowell.
Despite this excitement, and plenty of hype around his potential impact at the team, Newey has faced significant challenges since taking on the position, with Aston Martin and new power unit partners Honda struggling to adapt to F1’s new regulations.
Haas
Ayao Komatsu
Haas dropped a bombshell on the eve of the 2024 season when they announced that Guenther Steiner – who had led the team since their F1 debut in 2016 – was leaving with immediate effect, and would be replaced by Ayao Komatsu.
Komatsu had also worked with Haas since they arrived on the F1 grid, starting as Chief Race Engineer and progressing to Director of Engineering – the Japanese previously holding roles with BAR and Renault across some 20 years in the sport.
“Moving forward as an organisation, it was clear we need to improve our on-track performances,” said team owner Gene Haas after the change was made. “In appointing Ayao Komatsu as Team Principal, we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management.
“We have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in delivering results that help us reach our wider goals as an organisation. We need to be efficient with the resources we have, but improving our design and engineering capability is key to our success as a team.
“I’m looking forward to working with Ayao and fundamentally ensuring that we maximise our potential – this truly reflects my desire to compete properly in Formula 1.”
Haas moved from the bottom of the Teams’ Championship to seventh in Komatsu’s first season, followed by eighth in 2025, and a particularly strong start to 2026 – under F1’s new regulations – saw them hold P4 after the first three rounds.
Audi
Mattia Binotto / Allan McNish
Audi headed into their first F1 season – after taking over the Kick Sauber entry – with Jonathan Wheatley as Team Principal, but a shock announcement after the opening double-header in Australia and China earlier this year confirmed his sudden exit from the operation.
“It has been very fast, very unexpected for the entire team,” admitted Head of Audi F1 Project Mattia Binotto. “It has been really a sudden departure, a sudden change. I don’t think there is much we can say. He [Wheatley] has spoken to our CEO, the board of the team, mentioning that he couldn’t commit to the long-term for private reasons that we cannot judge or comment on.
“We decided as Audi, given that he couldn’t commit, to release him from duties. I don’t think that as a team we have realised it yet. When such changes are happening, big changes, you certainly first need to realise and to understand the impact and organise yourself.”
Binotto and Wheatley had been operating a dual leadership structure at Audi, with Binotto in charge of the overall project, including the chassis and power unit factories in Switzerland and Germany respectively, while Wheatley ran the race team at track.
Binotto confirmed that Audi would need to find a replacement Team Principal to take over trackside duties and enable him to focus on factory work – with former F1 driver and long-time associate of the brand Allan McNish subsequently being appointed as their new Racing Director.
Alpine
Flavio Briatore / Steve Nielsen
Flavio Briatore returned to F1 as Alpine’s Executive Advisor in 2024 and, following the exit of Oliver Oakes in early 2025, also took on Team Principal duties. Steve Nielsen joined as Managing Director last September to run the squad on a day-to-day basis.
Both were previously involved at Enstone, with Nielsen describing the factory as “the key ingredient” to success in the future. “It’s got all the infrastructure it needs and it’s our job to focus that and make sure the product we put on the track is the best it can be,” he said after his arrival.
Boasting experience at a host of other teams, as well as the FIA and F1, Nielsen added: “It was always a people business and it still is a people business now. You have to have the right people in the right places. You have to make them understand where their role fits in the projects. You have to give them consistent and coherent management, and then you have to be patient.
“A lot of people imagine there’s a silver bullet to something – tinker with the suspension or something and the car will go quicker. It’s not like that. It’s a very slow grinding process in the wind tunnel and the design offices, and gradually you iterate towards a better car, but it takes time.”
Alpine made a strong start under F1’s new-for-2026 regulations, climbing from the foot of the standings to fifth over the first four rounds, marking the first step in Briatore and Nielsen’s long-term plan of ‘Team Enstone’ fighting for more wins and titles.
Cadillac
Graeme Lowdon
Cadillac became F1’s 11th team in 2026, with the American automotive brand – who sit under the General Motors umbrella – arriving as an all-new entry, and putting their trust in former Virgin Racing/Marussia team boss Graeme Lowdon to lead them through their adaptation to the sport.
“I believe that Formula 1 is the greatest team sport in the world, and teams are all about people,” said Lowdon upon his arrival. “This is a team with a real love for, and desire to go, racing, and we have the experience and expertise to do just that. Racing is at the very heart of everything that we do.
“This is what I want to see in a team, and I really want to be part of it. I don’t underestimate the task ahead and I have the utmost respect for the competition. I look forward to the challenge of racing. In the meantime, our work continues at pace.”
General Motors President Mark Reuss added that Lowdon “has great racing expertise, he knows how to assemble a high-performing team, and he embodies the values the Cadillac Formula 1 Team will represent in all its endeavours, on or off the track.”
Lowdon is supported by Dan Towriss, CEO of the TWG Motorsports division who partnered with General Motors to create the Cadillac F1 project.
