The McLaren Formula One team will undergo further management changes in the 2019 season, as a new face takes over to lead the team down the path to recovery. The move comes just two seasons after Ron Dennis was forced out of the team in favor of Zak Brown.
Brown, a former professional racing driver himself, will remain the CEO of McLaren Racing but has managed to procure some talent that may be better suited to steer the team through recovery. The team has hired Andreas Seidl, team principal of Porsche’s LMP1 team, to take on all responsibility for McLaren’s Formula One project in the role of Managing Director.
Seidl has headed Porsche’s LMP1 for a number of seasons, racking up the world championship title and a couple of victories at Le Mans. He’s no stranger to Formula One, having worked closely with BWM during their operation of the Sauber team as head of track operations. When BWM turned over ownership of the team, Seidl remained with the team to aid them in their DTM revival.
“McLaren has the vision, leadership and experience but, most importantly, the people to return to the front, and that will be my absolute focus and mission,” Andreas Seidl said in a statement. “I can’t wait to join the team and begin working with my colleagues at McLaren, our partners at Renault and, of course, Carlos and Lando.”
Zak Brown optimistically took control of the team in 2017, bumping out McLaren legend Ron Dennis from his long-standing role with the team, with the hopes of returning the team to its former glory in the aftermath of the Honda power unit debacle. The programme struggled at the beginning but has made some progress. Although Brown was a familiar face at many of the Formula One races, his commitments in McLaren’s other motorsport ventures left him stretched very thin.
It was expected that someone would be called in to take full management of control, with Brown suggesting near the end of the 2018 season that the team needs stable management in order to process on the path forward.
“Concentrated senior leadership on our F1 programme is an integral part of the long-term strategy of McLaren Racing to expand into other forms of global motorsport over time,” Zak Brown explained. “Andreas is a highly capable leader with a track record of success in everything he has been involved with, and I look forward to working with him.”
Seidl will be in control of every aspect of the team’s Formula One efforts and will report directly to Brown.
