Only two F1 teams haven’t replaced bosses since 2022 · RaceFans

There may have been no movement on the Formula 1 driver market between last year and the coming 2024 F1 season, but the same isn’t true among the team principals.

The past two years have seen an unusually high rate of change at the top of many F1 teams. But not everywhere.

Consider the example of two Formula 1 teams which had disappointing seasons last year and confirmed very different plans for their leadership in the past week.

Guenther Steiner, previously one of the longest-serving current team principals, was shown the door by Haas after the team slumped to last place in ther constructors championship.

However Toto Wolff, one of only two remaining team principals who’d been in position for longer than Steiner, will remain in charge at Mercedes for at least another three years. Their championship dominating days may be behind them, and last season was their first without a victory since 2011, but Wolff’s fellow co-owners backed him to return them to their glory days.

Mercedes are bucking the trend Haas followed. The rate of turnover among F1 team principals has been remarkably high lately. Aside from Mercedes, Red Bull is the only other team which hasn’t appointed a new boss since the start of the 2022 season. Here’s a look at the last four years:

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What has driven these changed? It hasn’t always been a matter of a principal being replaced because a team has under-performed.

Several teams have gone through changes in ownership and identity which have led to new names at the top. Mike Krack was installed to lead Aston Martin in January 2022 and, remarkably, is now the third longest-running team principal. Similarly, after Dorilton bought Williams they briefly installed Jost Capito in charge before luring James Vowles from Mercedes to serve as a long-term replacement.

In another case the impending arrival of a new competitor has already caused changes. Sauber’s tie-up with Audi, due to begin in 2026, convinced Andreas Seidl to jump ship from McLaren to join them as Group CEO. McLaren promoted Andrea Stella in his place and can only have been pleased at how smoothly 2023 went once they got the MCL60 fully sorted.

Another change at Sauber (formerly Alfa Romeo) came about as a result of a performance-related replacement elsewhere. Ferrari’s failure to capitalise on their promising start to the 2022 led to Mattia Binotto’s exit, and Frederic Vasseur was hired from Alfa Romeo in his place.

Only one…