Mattia Binotto rules out Audi team principal replacement after Jonathan Wheatley exit

Mattia Binotto has explained what Audi will do in terms of its F1 team leadership, following the recent departure of Jonathan Wheatley.

Wheatley had been the team principal of the Swiss squad for a year when it was announced prior to the Japanese Grand Prix that he would leave the team with immediate effect.

Mattia Binotto confirms Audi will not replace Jonathan Wheatley as team principal

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Wheatley, the former sporting director of Red Bull, moved to Switzerland to join Sauber in early 2025, linking up with Mattia Binotto to lead the squad through its transition into the Audi factory team.

It was Wheatley’s first time in such a senior role, having hit a glass ceiling at Red Bull due to the then-lengthy tenure of Christian Horner in his role as team principal and CEO.

Wheatley was the public face of Sauber for most of 2025, helming the reinvigoration of the team as upgrades proved successful: not only were points finishes regular in the second half of 2025, but Nico Hulkenberg even scored his very first career podium.

But, behind the scenes, sources suggest that there was tension between Wheatley and Binotto; the former Ferrari team principal had been brought on board in August 2024 as the chief operating and chief technical officer with “responsibility and accountability for the operative management and sporting success of the racing team”.

Coinciding with Binotto taking on these roles as COO and CTO, Wheatley was announced as team principal and managements spokesperson, taking on the focus of the racing performance of the F1 team, operational management of race events, and representing Audi in Formula 1.

Binotto was shifted to “operative management of Sauber at the site in Hinwil and the technical development of the racing cars”, becoming the technical interface between Hinwil and Audi’s power unit site in Neuburg.

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Just a few months later, there was another change as the reporting structures were “optimised”: Binotto’s role changed to that of ‘Head of F1 Project’, overseeing the technical responsibilities of Neuburg and Hinwil, while former Audi F1 CEO Adam Baker, who had been heading up the power unit side of the operation, was replaced by Christian Foyer in the role of COO; the CEO role was eliminated as Baker departed the organisation.

It’s against the backdrop of these shifting roles that tensions are said to have taken hold. Binotto is understood to have developed a strong relationship with Audi’s overall CEO, Gernot Dollner, with Wheatley said to have not had the same level of rapport.

Wheatley’s personal life considerations then forced him into a position of needing to evaluate a move back to the UK, and, upon it emerging that Wheatley had become a target for Adrian Newey to bring on board at Aston Martin, triggered crunch meetings with Dollner.

It’s at one such meeting that it’s understood Wheatley requested an amicable split and, hours later, Audi confirmed that Wheatley would leave the team with immediate effect. The anticipated move to Aston Martin to slot into Newey’s role as team principal has not yet been confirmed, but is still expected.

With Wheatley departing, it left Binotto facing the media in Japan in the most senior Audi role, but he is not the team principal. Of course, the evolving role of the team principal, which has shifted to that of an employee rather than a shareholder or owner in the modern era, means that not every team now has one: Alpine, for instance, has Steve Nielsen as a managing director, but has no team principal.

One potential name who has been speculated as being a candidate for the role vacated by Wheatley is that of Christian Horner.

However, Horner is known to be only seeking an F1 return on the grounds of being a true partner within a team, having equity in the game. While Audi did sell a stake in its team to the Qatar Investment Authority [QIA] in late 2024, there are no indications that the German car manufacturer’s parent company has any interest in relinquishing more.

Added to that, Horner’s previous negotiations with Audi’s parent company, the Volkswagen Group, over a potential Porsche partnership with Red Bull, fell apart as VW sought more control in the organisation than Red Bull was willing to give up.

But could there be a new team principal at Audi in the near future? Binotto appeared to rule out the possibility when he spoke to the media after the Japanese Grand Prix.

“For the future, I think we are not looking for a new team principal,” he said.

“I will keep the role, but I will need someone to support me at the race weekends, because I will not always be at the race weekend myself.

“I need to focus most on the factory, where there is the most to transform, I would say, not only to develop, to transform. So certainly, support at a race weekend is required.”

The suggestion is that someone will slot into a senior trackside role, with paddock speculation suggesting that this person could be long-time Audi stalwart Allan McNish, who was one of the very first people to become involved in the F1 project when it was announced four years ago.

But for Binotto, it’s not about the individuals and instead about team ethos.

“The team has remained very focused and concentrated this weekend, and, operationally, the team has performed very well, and we can be pleased showing that, at the end, it’s not about an individual, it’s about the team. What counts the most is the team,” he said.

“So I would not be concerned for the future because of individuals. If you look at the whole team performance again, it has been a great team performance.

“We had great pit stops this weekend, and from the pit wall, I would say, generally speaking, well managed.”

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