F1 drivers have reacted to the recent ‘team boss’ movements involving Ferrari, Alfa Romeo Sauber, McLaren and Williams.
The chain was started by Ferrari earlier in the month when they announced the departure of Mattia Binotto from the team principal position. His exit started the speculation of Frederic Vasseur taking his position, moving out from Alfa Romeo Sauber.
Before getting to this, Williams made a shock announcement of the departure of Jost Capito and FX Demaison from the team on Monday evening. While the German had hinted on retirement before joining, but the news still came as a surprise for all.
It also came at a time when the team is in a re-building phase with Dorilton Capital. While their replacement will be announced at a later stage, Tuesday morning had a chain of announcements from three F1 teams in a span of few hours.
Sauber first confirmed the departure of Vasseur as Ferrari quickly then announced his hiring as the new team boss. Just when it seemed like things settled down, McLaren confirmed that Andreas Seidl would leave his role earlier than his contract.
The German’s speculation only came through Australian publication Speedcafe in the early hours of Tuesday. But in a media call attended by FormulaRapida.net, Zak Brown noted that Seidl had already informed about his departure earlier in the F1 season.
He was eventually confirmed to join Alfa Romeo Sauber but only in the CEO role as he now has to find a new F1 team principal. On the other hand, McLaren promoted Andrea Stella to the team boss role in a in-house move rather than an outside one.
Here’s selected F1 driver reacting to the respective news:
Zhou Guanyu: “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and this team, Fred. It’s been an honour working with you!”
Lando Norris: “Farewell Andreas! It’s been mega working with you these last few years. I’ve never seen our team looking as strong as it is now and some of that is credit to the work you’ve done. Best of luck in the new job mate, I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
Alexander Albon: “We only had one year working together but in that time you were not just a Team Principal but also a great friend. Thank you Jost for your faith in me this year and all the support that that came with. Wishing you the very best in the future.”
Logan Sargeant: “Jost, thank you for having the trust and belief in me throughout my time in the academy and helping me on my path to F1. He gave me an opportunity to show my potential and race in Formula 2. He has been a great team leader, and I wish him the best in whatever the future may hold!”
Interesting from @ZBrownCEO as he says Andrea Stella was always his first choice and that Andreas Seidl told him during the season about his move elsewhere – he doesn't wants to specify when but. Initial timeline was for him to stay on until 2025 season. #F1 | @MsportXtra
— Darshan Chokhani (@DarshanChokhani) December 13, 2022
Here’s news of Andreas Seidl joining Sauber, Andrea Stella promotion
Here’s news of Frederic Vasseur moving to Ferrari