Guenther Steiner names the one Formula 1 driver he’d want to be his team principal

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None of Formula 1’s 10 team principals have raced in the sport. But some have employed former drivers in advisory capacities.

At Mercedes, three-time world champion Niki Lauda helped Toto Wolff lead the team on a historic run of dominance. Lauda saw the team win five straight constructors’ titles before he died in 2019, and they would go on to land three more.

At Ferrari, meanwhile, the former Virgin and Lotus driver Jerome D’Ambrosio has arrived as the deputy to Frederic Vasseur. He’ll also head up the team’s academy.

A veteran of over 100 Grands Prix, Pedro de la Rosa works for the Aston Martin team. And Williams boss James Vowles employs 2009 title winner Jenson Button.

Of these, D’Ambrosio is best positioned to lead a team in the future. He’s the most logical successor to Vasseur at Ferrari whenever he moves on – Mercedes may have been envisaged him replacing Wolff one day before he left.

Among the current drivers, few have expressed an interest in management, but Fernando Alonso is an exception. Alonso wants to stay at Aston Martin after he retires from F1, potentially as part of the senior leadership.

Guenther Steiner picks Kevin Magnussen as his dream team boss

Alonso is the most experienced driver in F1 history, set to reach 400 race starts at the penultimate round of the season in Qatar. But speaking to Sky Sports F1 for Instagram, Guenther Steiner named one of his rivals as the most desirable boss.

Steiner went with Kevin Magnussen, a driver he hired twice for Haas. He recruited the Dane for the team’s second season in 2017 and then brought him back in 2022.

Gene Haas let Steiner go at the end of last year, with Ayao Komatsu replacing him. Magnussen will follow him out 12 months later, with Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon forming a brand-new driver line-up.

Asked which driver he’d want as his leader, Steiner simply replied: “Kevin.”

Jenson Button says Kevin Magnussen didn’t think F1 would be ‘this difficult’

Magnussen is perhaps a surprising choice given his reputation. He’s become known as one of the sport’s most fiery characters, particularly on track.

The 32-year-old became the first driver to be banned under F1’s penalty points system after accumulating 12 in the first 16 races. The suspension split opinion but GPDA chief George Russell felt Magnussen deserved his punishment.

He started his F1 career at McLaren and looked set for stardom in the sport when he scored a podium on his debut in Australia. But that remains his only top-three finish in the sport.

Magnussen didn’t expect F1 to be ‘this difficult’, he told Button three races in. They spent a single season together before the arrival of Fernando Alonso in 2015.