Andreas Seidl’s departure from McLaren was precipitated
McLaren boss Zak Brown points out that Andreas Seidl's departure was not planned until 2025, and has been precipitated by the many changes at the start of the week.
On Tuesday, December 13th, Formula 1 news experienced a real boom during a slow period. Frédéric Vasseur took the lead at Scuderia, Jost Capito left Williams, Andreas Seidl left McLaren to land in Hinwill, and he was replaced by Andrea Stella.
This game of musical chairs hastened the departure of Andreas Seidl, as confirmed by Zak Brown, the CEO of McLaren.
Andreas, who has done an excellent job here at McLaren in recent seasons, informed me very transparently during the season that he would be leaving at the end of his contract in late 2025, confirms the American.
« His destination was surely clear and understandable, considering his previous experiences. At the time, we planned to continue together in the medium term, as our relationship was very, very healthy. And his work ethic is excellent. Our intention, at the end of the season, was to inform everyone that the change would take place at the end of the 2023 season. And once it becomes public, the first person I would call to see if he would lead the McLaren team is the gentleman sitting next to me, Andrea, without knowing at this stage if it was something he would consider.
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Phone call from Finn Rausing
«In the fast-paced environment of Formula 1, when it became clear that Fred was going to join Ferrari, Finn Rausing [owner of the Alfa Romeo team, NDLR] – someone I have known for about ten years and get along with very well – gave me a call to see if there was a discussion to have in order to possibly release Andreas earlier. »
My reaction was that if Andrea was willing to take the team manager position, then I would gladly make this change now – I think it puts everyone at ease for the foreseeable future. So, I went to talk to Andrea before he found out that Andreas was leaving for the 2026 season. After some good discussions, Andrea was kind enough to accept this role, which has put us in a very comfortable position going forward. Because Andrea has always been our number one choice to lead the team in the future. All of this happened very quickly.
At the moment, only Williams is orphaned of a team principal, but one should be found soon.
