The ten Formula 1 teams all have team bosses or principals who are at the helm of overseeing the everyday operations of their outfits.
A team principal is basically the person who is responsible for his or her team as a whole during the entire course of the season. Even though they are not the ones who are behind the wheels, the success of the team on the tracks is often a parameter when gauging the work of a good team principal.
While there are still other people who are in charge of different divisions in every F1 outfit, the team principal is the one person who is above them all.
Team principals are also responsible for handling the public image of their team to a certain extent. For example, if the team faces some backlash or becomes embroiled in some controversies off the track, the team principals will be the ones who will face and deal with the media.
Before the 2022 campaign, there were only two teams that have chosen new team principals. It was in 2009 when Otmar Szafnauer became a part of Force India and until 2021, he was a member of the Silverstone team. Throughout the tenure of Szafnauer, he supervised two major re-brandings and the latest of which was the return of the name Aston Martin in Formula 1.
After 2021, Szafnauer opted to leave Aston Martin and has been designated as Alpine’s team principal. Mike Krack was appointed as the team principal of Aston Martin as a replacement for the 57-year-old Szafnauer.
For the 2022 season, the following are the team principals of the ten F1 teams:
- Frederic Vasseur for Alfa Romeo
- Franz Tost for AlphaTauri
- Otmar Szafnauer for Alpine
- Mike Krack for Aston Martin
- Mattia Binotto for Ferrari
- Guenther Steiner for Haas
- Toto Wolff for Mercedes
- Andreas Seidl for McLaren
- Christian Horner for Red Bull
- Jost Capito for Williams
Controversy riddled the 2021 Formula 1 season not just on the track but even off it. It was usually worsened because of team principals, specifically Wolff and Horner who were trying to put pressure on Race Director Michael Masi into reaching decisions that were in their favor.
Ultimately, this led to numerous infamous incidents that left the sport with no choice but to alter its rules. This resulted in principals being prohibited from talking to the Race Directors from mid-race 2022 onwards.
This decision earned the support of many people in the Formula 1 community. Max Verstappen, the 2021 Champion, also felt that Masi lucked out to have had Wolff and Horner breathing down his next throughout the year.
Masi got dismissed from being race director following his infamous call during last December’s season finale. However, Verstappen feels that the Australian was only being used as the scapegoat to hide bigger and more serious issues.
Now that you know who’s behind each Formula 1 team, who would you be supporting this season?
