In the Formula 1 paddock, in addition to the drivers, it is common to see different characters in each race, who seem to act only as supporting actors, but who throughout the season play key roles, either in their teams, in planning each event. or even for its proximity to drivers.
In the face of a new year in the highest category, we present those protagonists who appear on the circuits, but are not as recognized as those behind the wheels, although their role is almost as important.
Toto Wolff
He is the director and CEO of Mercedes and one of the main culprits for the success of the German team in the hybrid era, with seven constructors’ championships in a row since 2014 and the same number of drivers (six for Lewis Hamilton). As a driver, the Austrian had a discreet career before becoming a shareholder and manager Williams, then made the leap to Lone Star to be the architect of triumphs. In addition, she owns shares in Aston Martin and Williams and has represented Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon.
Stefano Domenicali
The new CEO of Formula 1 replaces Chase Carey in position, but he is a familiar face in the paddock of the series. With a career related to Ferrari, he held various positions until he became top manager in 2008, when Scuderia won its last constructors’ championship; After his resignation in April 2014, he worked at Lamborghini, but will now be the head of the category.
Dietrich Mateschitz
He is one of the founders and owner of the energy drink company Red Bull. The brand has always been related to sports and in a very special way to motor sports, first as the owner of Sauber and then of Jaguar, which became Red Bull, and Minardi, which became Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri). In addition to titles, he is always looking to promote new talent on the grid, such as Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen or Carlos Sainz.
Guenther Steiner
Director Haas gained notoriety with the Formula 1: Drive to Survive series for his constant pressure on drivers; however, he is the mind behind the formation of the top American team. He began his career in rallies, then joined Jaguar and when he was acquired by Red Bull he remained, before being sent to develop the company’s project in the United States, where he met Gene Haas, with whom he started in 2014. from scratch. the team that this season begins a new stage with changes in the steering wheels.
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Ferrari has unveiled the mono market that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will lead in the 2021 Formula 1 season.
Mattia Binotto
The Ferrari director is regularly the center of criticism from fans for the decisions that are made or the lack of good results in recent times. Trained as an engineer, the Italian has been with Scuderia since 1995 and was responsible for the engines and the technical part, before being appointed the successor of Maurizio Arrivabene in the main position in 2019. His position always seems in danger.
Helmut Marko
Although he is officially the advisor to the Red Bull F1 teams, his position as head of the driver development program made him the ideologue of the brand and his power, both in the main team and in AlphaTauri, is at the highest level. He has no filters when it comes to referring to the four flyers of the organization and was important in cutting paths like those of Daniil Kvyat or Alex Albon.
Adrian Newey
The technical director of Red Bull is seen as one of the most important Christians. In the 1990s he was part of five Williams constructors’ titles and after 1998 with McLaren, in 2006 he joined the Austrian team and was a key player in the 2010-2013 championships; Although the trophies are now won by Mercedes, the chassis designed by Newey remains the most recognized.
Lawrence Promenade
He owns the Aston Martin F1. A fashion billionaire who became involved in the series when his son Lance became a Williams driver in 2017. Faced with the bankruptcy of Force India in 2018, Lawrence led a group of investors who bought it, renamed it Racing Point and later hired son. for one of the cars. For this campaign, the team will change its name again and will have Sebastian Vettel in the other car, instead of Sergio Pérez.
James Allison
Mercedes’ recent successes also have a designer and he is the technical director. After passing through the aerodynamic zone of Benetton and Ferrari, the Briton had greater responsibilities at Renault and Lotus and returned to Scuderia. After his wife’s death, he resigned, but in 2017 he was hired by Silver Arrows as a replacement for Paddy Lowe to be a key part of the victories.
Christian Horner
He has been the director of Red Bull since 2005 and brought it to the forefront between 2010 and 2013, with four championships for manufacturers and drivers, before the advent of the new rules and Mercedes. In recent years he has brought the Austrians back into the battle for victory and solved various crises, such as the exhaustion of Renault engines, the exit of Honda from Formula 1 in 2022 and the search for a suitable partner for Verstappen. The Briton is married to Geri Halliwell, a former member of the Spice Girls.
Angela Cullen
Lewis Hamilton’s eternal companion is New Zealand physiotherapist Angela Cullen, who has been working on the British physical work since 2016, although on a regular weekend she expands her work to be the closest person to the seven-time champion. She represented her country in the field hockey team and then became the coach of the athletics groups, before being the right hand of the Englishman.
Otmar Szafnauer
He is the director and CEO of Aston Martin F1. The Romanian is the soul of the organization, since he arrived in 2009 when he was Force India, with sporting success, but also as a visible face when financial complications hit the garage in 2018, later becoming Lawrence’s right hand. Ride from Racing Point to an Aston Martin this season.
Michael Masi
The director of the F1 race had the mission far from being the successor of the late Charlie Whiting. He arrived as the future replacement of the legendary manager, but his sudden death put him in front from the beginning of the 2019 season; He is in charge of ensuring the safety of the protagonists and had a great test with the accident of the Frenchman Romain Grosjean in Bahrain the previous year.
Ross Brawn
The CEO of Formula 1 also has a long experience of series success. He was the perfect partner for Michael Schumacher’s seven titles, first at Benetton and then at Ferrari, then bought the Honda team and renamed it Brawn GP, which in its only season (2009) won both championships. He retired in 2014 after working at Mercedes, but returned to the leadership of the category in 2017.
Frédéric Vasseur
He is the director of Alfa Romeo, with a long career in motorsport. As part of ART in the GP2 series, he lived the Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton championships, then joined Renault as head of the F1 return in 2016, before playing in an internal battle that caused him to leave the garage. It arrived at Sauber in 2017 and remained in transition to become Alfa Romeo.
Franz Tost
He is the director of AlphaTauri, the second in the Red Bull hierarchy. With a low profile, he came to Formula 1 from the hands of Ralf Schumacher, first in Jordan and then in Williams. He was appointed head of the newly created Toro Rosso team in 2006 and maintains this position, from which he saw the beginning of the careers of drivers such as Vettel or Verstappen.
Toyoharu Tanabe
He is the technical director of Honda F1, which supplies engines to Red Bull teams. However, he has a long experience after working as an engineer for Austrian driver Gerhard Berger at McLaren in the 1990s. Although he grew up to collect trophies with Max Verstappen, the Japanese brand is facing its final year in the highest category.
Zak Brown
The CEO of McLaren Racing was instrumental in returning to competitiveness at Woking. With a long career behind the wheel and in the commercial section of motor sports, he signed with the brand in 2016 as head of the technology group and in 2018 he moved to the racing side; last year the team ranked third in the championship ahead of Ferrari or Renault.
Simon Roberts
Manager Williams will experience his first full season as team leader. He worked at Force India and McLaren before being appointed manager at Grove in June 2020; however, just three months later he replaced Claire Williams as team manager, in a difficult transition after the sale of the team.
Laurent Rossi
In another example of immediate replacements, Rossi became CEO of Alpine less than two months ago, following the surprising resignation of Cyril Abiteboul. Although he has already been at Renault since 2018 as head of strategy and business development, his greatest professional success was at Google, where he worked for six years promoting business relationships with customers in the automotive industry.
These are some of the characters who appear in every race, give interviews and celebrate or suffer in the paddock, despite the fact that she does not get in the car and take her to the checkered flag. They are the ones who work behind the scenes, so that the drivers can get the maximum performance in every Grand Prix and will be present in this new season.