Each of the 10 current Formula 1 teams relies on one individual to run the show day-to-day - whether that's rallying staff on the shop floor, hiring and firing drivers and technical staff, fighting the team's corner in commercial and regulatory discussions, or facing the world's media.
The job titles might be slightly different in each case, but here's a quick-fire way to get to know each of the team principals in F1 right now.
Andrea Stella - McLaren
Stella became McLaren team principal at the start of 2023, replacing Andreas Seidl.
Stella made an immediate impact by restructuring McLaren's technical department, before leading the team to the 2024 constructors' championship - McLaren's first such success since 1998.
Prior to his promotion, Stella was McLaren's racing director and has also held posts as the team's performance director (2018) and head of track operations (2015-17).
Stella was also a very successful race engineer at Ferrari, winning world championships with Michael Schumacher (2002-04) and Kimi Raikkonen (2007), before guiding Fernando Alonso to near-misses in 2010 and 2012.
Fred Vasseur - Ferrari
Fred Vasseur became Ferrari team principal ahead of the 2023 season, replacing long-serving Ferrari engineer Mattia Binotto.
Prior to that, Vasseur had stints in charge of the Sauber/Alfa Romeo F1 team (from mid-2017-22) and Renault's works F1 team (in 2016).
Vasseur is an engineer by trade - his Spark company builds the chassis used in the FIA's all-electric Formula E championship - and also a highly successful junior single-seater team boss who has worked with multiple F1 world champions - including Lewis Hamilton, whom Vasseur convinced to join Ferrari for 2025 in place of Carlos Sainz.
Laurent Mekies - Red Bull
Laurent Mekies sensationally took over the Red Bull squad as CEO in July - his first race being Spa - after Christian Horner was released by Red Bull after over 20 years.
Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO corporate projects and investments at Red Bull, said: “We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years.
"With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1.
"Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history.”
An engineer originally by trade, Mekies worked at Arrows, Minardi and Toro Rosso - as its chief engineer - early in his career before joining the FIA in 2014 as safety director and then deputy race director.
He switched to Ferrari in 2018, as sporting director, deputy team principal and then racing director, before leaving in 2023. He joined Racing Bulls the following year.
Toto Wolff - Mercedes
Wolff is currently F1's most successful team principal, having overseen seven world drivers' championship wins and eight consecutive constructors' championship titles for Mercedes from 2014-21.
Wolff is also an equal co-owner of the team he runs, alongside Mercedes parent company Daimler and major sponsor INEOS (a British chemicals company).
He too was a racing driver (in Formula Ford) before becoming a business student, an investor in Williams (from 2009-16) and executive director of the Mercedes F1 team in 2013.
He's effectively been Mercedes F1 team boss since Ross Brawn left at the end of that year.
Andy Cowell - Aston Martin
Ahead of the 2025 F1 season, Aston Martin moved Mike Krack out of the team boss role he'd held since replacing Otmar Szafnauer who left to join Alpine ahead of the 2022 season.
Krack moved to a new position as chief trackside officer with Aston CEO Andy Cowell - a linchpin of Mercedes' hybrid engine domination - replacing him as Aston F1's team principal.
Cowell served as Mercedes' F1 engine chief from 2013, helping the team scoop every F1 title between 2014-2019, before departing in June 2020.
He arrived at Aston in July 2024 as group CEO before adding his new team boss role in Jan 2025.
Flavio Briatore - Alpine
Oakes started the season as F1's youngest team principal, having taken over from interim boss Bruno Famin at Alpine during the summer of 2024.
But Oakes, 37, resigned in May 2025 on the eve of the team choosing to drop Jack Doohan for Franco Colapinto.
His responsibilities have been taken over by returning executive advisor (and former Renault team principal) Flavio Briatore.
Ayao Komatsu - Haas
Komatsu replaced charismatic founding Haas team boss Guenther Steiner in January 2024, after team owner Gene Haas decided not to renew Steiner's contract in what turned out to be a successful pursuit of lifting the team off the bottom of the constructors' championship.
Komatsu has been with Haas since its F1 debut in 2016, serving as its head of trackside operations.
He began his F1 career with BAR-Honda in 2003 before joining the world champion Renault works team in 2006 as a tyre engineer.
Komatsu later enjoyed stints race engineering Vitaly Petrov and Romain Grosjean, helping both become F1 podium finishers. He stuck with Renault during its transition to becoming the privateer Lotus team in 2012, but left when Renault resumed ownership at the end of 2015.
Alan Permane - Racing Bulls
In the wake of Mekies leaving to take over Red Bull after Horner's exit, Alan Permane (above, right) took the reigns of the team.
“I feel very honoured to take on the role as Team Principal and would like to thank Oliver [Mintzlaff] and Helmut [Marko] for the trust they have shown in me," he said.
"I am looking forward to working with Peter [Bayer, team CEO] to continue the good work that both him and Laurent have done in taking this team forward. This is a new challenge for me, but I know that I can count on the support of everyone within them.”
Permane had worked for Alpine and its previous entities until leaving mid-way through 2023, and took over as racing director for Racing Bulls in 2024.
James Vowles - Williams
Vowles left a long and successful career with Mercedes to become Williams team boss at the start of 2023, replacing Jost Capito.
In fact, this was the first time since he began his F1 career that Vowles had switched teams. He joined what was then BAR in 2001 and stayed with the outfit as it transitioned to Honda, then Brawn GP, then Mercedes.
Vowles developed his F1 career as a strategist, but is using his vast knowledge as latterly a key pillar of Mercedes' record-breaking F1 success in the hybrid era to lead a cultural transformation of Williams in his first team principal role.
Jonathan Wheatley - Sauber
Jonathan Wheatley will depart Red Bull to become Sauber's new team principal from April 1.
Sauber hasn't had an official team principal since Fred Vasseur left in 2022, with Alessandro Alunni Bravi - who used to manage Robert Kubica - acting as the 'team representative' since 2023. Effectively an interim manager.
Bravi's departure was confirmed in January 2025 with him leaving at the end of that month.
Wheatley's impending arrival is part of a shake-up instigated by ex-Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto, who became Audi's chief operating and technical officer in the summer of 2024.
Binotto effectively replaced ex-McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl who, along with Oliver Hoffmann, was purged from Audi's F1 leadership structure following disagreements between the two men, and concerns at Audi board level that the project wasn't making sufficiently speedy progress.
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