Formula One
Audi F1 has pinched Red Bull’s Jonathan Wheatley to be its new team principal
Another key figure leaves Red Bull, with its sporting director leaving for the new Audi F1 project
Audi recently announced that it had recruited Mattia Binotto for its F1 project as it continues to take over the Sauber team before its proper factory entry in 2026. And it would seem that it has been on a bit of a hiring spree, because it has now nicked Jonathan Wheatley from Red Bull.
Wheatley has worked at Red Bull for eighteen years and has overseen six constructor’s and seven driver’s world championships in that time. When he moves to Audi ‘by July 2025 at the latest’, he will take up the role of team principal and will jointly lead the team with COO and CTO Binotto.
“I am delighted that we have been able to gain Jonathan Wheatley as team principal for our future Formula 1 team,” says Gernot Döllner, CEO of Audi and now also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sauber Motorsport AG.
“Jonathan has played a major part in many Formula 1 race victories and world championship titles in his Formula 1 career so far, and has extensive experience in the paddock. He is a very valuable addition to our team.
“With the appointment of Jonathan and Mattia we have taken a decisive step towards our entry into Formula 1. I am convinced that with the two of them, we have been able to combine an extremely high level of competence for Audi. Their experience and their ability will help us to get a foothold quickly in the tough competitive world of Formula 1.”
Worried that Wheatley and Binotto might enter a ‘too many cooks’ situation? Well, Audi says that “there is a clear division of duties, and responsibilities have been individually defined”.
We’re told that Binotto will take charge of the ‘operative management of Sauber Motorsport AG’ at the factory in Hinwil. He will be responsible for the technical development of the cars and will liaise with the power unit team at Audi’s site in Neuburg an der Donau.
Wheatley – who started his career in the early 1990s at Benetton and rose to become chief mechanic – will manage the team at race events and will focus on ‘the racing performance of the future F1 factory team’.
“I am extremely proud to have been a part of the Red Bull Racing journey over the last eighteen years and will leave with many fond memories,” said Wheatley. “However, the opportunity to play an active part in Audi’s entry into Formula 1 as head of a factory team is a uniquely exciting prospect, and I am looking forward to the challenge. Also I am glad to be working together with Mattia, whom I have known for many years and who is the right person to collaborate with in this exciting project.”