Andreas Seidl

Andreas Seidl is set to oversee Audi's entry to Formula 1 in 2026 after leaving his role as McLaren team principal to become chief executive of Sauber.

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." "They intend to be a force, and by the looks of it, getting him on board at this stage, it seems they want to come in in 2026 as a team capable of winning the world championship. "We are realistic about the amount of work ahead of us to move back up the grid, but I am excited and encouraged that I am in this journey together with a team full of talent, experience, racing spirit and dedication," Stella said. "His move into this role is a great example of the strength in depth we have in our team, and I'm excited to be working more closely with him with a joint focus on moving up the grid and winning races." He has provided great leadership for the team and has played a significant part in our F1 performance recovery plan and ongoing journey to return to the front of the grid. "It is great to join the Sauber Group from January," said Seidl, who worked as engineer for the Sauber team when it was owned by BMW between 2006 and 2009.

McLaren's Andreas Seidl has joined the Sauber Group as CEO in a surprise move which will see him oversee its Formula One partnership with Audi in 2026.

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. He has provided great leadership for the team and has played a significant part in our F1 performance recovery plan and ongoing journey to return to the front of the grid. 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.

McLaren team principal jumps ship to lead Sauber as it heads towards Audi F1 era…

Seidl takes position with Sauber Group ahead of its move to Audi, as Formula 1 game of musical chairs adds more layers.

Audi has grand ambitions for its Formula 1 program and ensuring various factions—most notably its engine plant in Germany and the current Sauber base in Switzerland where the chassis will continue to be constructed—work harmoniously will be crucial for its hoped-for success. “And I think as we try and build a team to get back to competing for the world championships it has to be a team effort, and this feels like we won’t miss a beat versus introducing someone from the outside because it takes quite a way to get up to speed. If we didn’t have Andrea that maybe would have been an alternative to look at, but it was very clear to us very quickly that Andrea was who we wanted to have run the team.” “Andreas has extensive experience in leadership roles across motorsport programs on both the manufacturer and Formula 1 team side. But the Formula 1 project is at the heart of Sauber’s activities. He headed BMW’s DTM project before moving over to spearhead the ultra-successful Le Mans project of Porsche, which is also under the Volkswagen Group of which Audi is a part. He will not, however, take the team principal position of its Formula 1 team, as Sauber is due to hire another individual for that role. It had a mixed 2022, slipping to fifth overall, but the focus for McLaren remains longer term, with 2025 earmarked as the year when its recent investments should begin to pay off. McLaren CEO Zak Brown praised Seidl for doing this “in a very transparent manner” and Rausing requested whether the German could be released early from his contract. As McLaren team principal, Seidl rejuvenated an outfit that had reached its lowest ebb, recognized where the squad needed to improve, and put long-term plans into place. “But I think as we’ve demonstrated at McLaren, there are ways to dissolve a relationship, whether that’s with racing drivers, or employees, where you can do things on very workable terms for everyone.” Ferrari considered several possible candidates, understood to have included Red Bull boss Christian Horner and McLaren chief Seidl, before zeroing in on Vasseur.

McLaren appointed Andrea Stella as Formula One team principal on Tuesday in a move hastened by his predecessor Andreas Seidl joining Sauber as replacement ...

"So I think it's important to retain continuity there in terms of the way we go racing trackside. "My reaction was if Andrea would be happy to join as team principal, then I'd be very happy to make that change now which I think puts everyone in their permanent homes for the foreseeable future." "Andreas in a very transparent manner informed me during the season that he was going to go elsewhere when his contract was up at the end of 2025," Brown told reporters on a video call with Stella.