Why Jonathan Wheatley walked away from Audi and where he could land next

After a strong start to life as an F1 team boss, why is Jonathan Wheatley off to pastures new – and where will he show up?

Two races into his career as Audi’s F1 team boss after overseeing the squad evolve from Sauber, Wheatley has parted ways with his former employer – yet doesn’t appear to have signed on the dotted line with another.

Jonathan Wheatley exits Audi after internal tensions

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The sudden departure of Wheatley from Audi last week came as a big surprise, given that, on the surface at least, the project was working.

The former Red Bull sporting director, who had hit a glass ceiling at Milton Keynes given Christian Horner’s then-longevity in the role as team boss, had taken up the challenge of slotting in as team principal at Sauber in early 2025.

Alongside Mattia Binotto, who, while hired after Wheatley, had already been in place for several months by the time the British engineer arrived, the duo formed a two-pronged leadership structure at Hinwil as the transition to become the factory Audi squad began in earnest.

Binotto was initially named as chief operating officer and chief technical officer, “with responsibility and accountability for the operative management and sporting success of the racing team”, according to the press release confirming his arrival.

Less than 12 months later, and it’s all looked rather positive from the outside. From toiling around at the very back at the start of last season, Sauber’s upgrades throughout the year clearly worked – more than can be said for some established frontrunning teams – and it was no longer surprising to see Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto scoring points.

A mid-season highlight was, obviously, Hulkenberg’s podium at Silverstone, and it was the feather in the cap for what was a strong first season of leadership for Wheatley, who appeared to be taking to his role with sotto voce panache and confident likeability.

After the ‘warm-up’ that was Sauber’s final year, and Audi finally completing the takeover of the Swiss team, 2026 is a different proposition. Now a manufacturer team, rolling out the Audi F1 power unit for the first time, the pressure ramps up against expectations of constant improvement and upward momentum.

It couldn’t have started much better, with Audi having proven in the two races so far that its car and power unit combination is good enough to be solidly midfield and, although reliability issues have affected both cars across the two races, the first points are in the bag, courtesy of Bortoleto’s ninth-place in Australia.

But, behind the scenes, sources have suggested that not all was well. Wheatley and Binotto hadn’t gelled as a duo, and the Swiss-born former Ferrari team boss was a far more astute political player, having a closer relationship with Audi CEO Gernot Döllner.

It’s not unthinkable that Binotto had been quite happy with having full control of the team prior to Wheatley’s arrival, and having the British engineer arrive and offer his own inputs was at odds with how Binotto and Döller had been operating.

Certainly, in the background, Wheatley is said to have seen the writing on the wall that his tenure at Audi wasn’t going to be a long one, given the friction between him and Binotto/Döllner.

It’s for this reason that it’s believed he was therefore quite amenable to an approach from Aston Martin team boss Adrian Newey, with the two having worked together for years at Red Bull.

As revealed by PlanetF1.com last week, Wheatley was one of several names understood to have been approached by Newey, who identified Wheatley as his primary target for the team principalship at his team, as he eyes up a long-term hierarchy that will allow him to step back into his more desired role as managing technical partner.

This approach is said to have been made in late 2025, early enough for top-level sources to have been aware of it during Bahrain’s pre-season testing.

With Döllner and the Audi board also becoming aware of Wheatley’s looking elsewhere, coinciding with Wheatley revealing that he had to take personal life considerations into account as he eyed up a move back to the UK, crunch talks are understood to have taken place.

Wheatley is said to have asked Döllner for an amicable split, and it’s believed that this has largely occurred. On Friday afternoon last, Audi put out a statement confirming that Wheatley will “depart the team with immediate effect” – resulting in Binotto taking back control as a team boss for the first time since his split with Ferrari over three years ago.

But, just 15 minutes later, Aston Martin released a statement of its own. Lawrence Stroll himself spoke, reiterating the faith he has in Newey to lead his team, with no mention of a Wheatley arrival.

“With the current speculation surrounding Adrian Newey’s role in our team, I want to take this opportunity to set the record straight,” he said.

“As Executive Chairman and Controlling Shareholder, I would like to reaffirm that Adrian Newey is my partner and an important shareholder. He is AMR’s Managing Technical Partner, and he and I have a true partnership built on a shared vision of success for the company.

“We do things differently here, and while we don’t currently adopt the traditional Team Principal role that you see elsewhere – it is by design.

“As the most successful engineer ​in the history of the sport, Adrian’s primary focus is on the strategic and technical leadership where he excels. He is supported by a highly skilled Senior Leadership Team to deliver on all aspects of the business, both at the Campus and trackside.

“We are regularly approached by senior executives of other teams who wish to join Aston Martin Aramco, but in keeping with our policy, we do not comment on rumour and speculation.”

Of course, this does little to shut down the speculation regarding Wheatley, although multiple senior sources have indicated that the now-former Audi team boss did not have a formal offer or a contract signed with Aston Martin at the time of the sudden split.

This would suggest that Wheatley had lost control of the situation, having been quietly negotiating with Aston Martin in the background for some time – now cut from Audi’s leadership, that negotiating position has almost certainly weakened.

Wheatley may well have a contract or agreement already signed off, which may take some time to come to light, depending on his gardening leave requirements from Audi.

Sources with knowledge of the situation suggest Wheatley is likely facing at least one year of gardening leave, but this can be expedited to a significant extent – it all depends on the finances on offer, and the strength of the relationships between the negotiating parties.

It could therefore be a case that Newey and Wheatley combining forces at Aston Martin is a done deal, but it won’t be known about until closer to the end of his gardening leave period, however long that may be.

There’s also the possibility that Aston Martin isn’t Wheatley’s end destination, although this is thought to be unlikely. There have been whispers that Alpine’s Flavio Briatore is interested in him, and the Italian is also suggested to have approached, without success, McLaren’s Rob Marshall – perhaps for a team principal-type role to sit alongside managing director Steve Nielsen.

However, it’s not thought that Alpine is actively in the market seeking further firepower in its upper management structure.

More on Jonathan Wheatley and Adrian Newey

Aston Martin statement reinforces Adrian Newey role amid Jonathan Wheatley speculation

Jonathan Wheatley leaves Audi with immediate effect

Assuming it does play out as anticipated, with Wheatley eventually confirmed as joining Aston Martin as team principal, and Newey stepping back into his more desired roles, there are still more questions to be answered.

For instance, Audi has indicated that a future structure is still to be “fully defined at a later stage as the organisation continues to adapt”. Wheatley is the latest name on what is becoming quite a long list of axed and departed top-level executives, including former McLaren boss Andreas Seidl, indicating that top-level personnel are having to negotiate a political minefield in their roles.

Given the suggestion of further change, who might Audi have in its sights? As is the case with all prominent positions while he’s a free man, the first contender to come to mind is former Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

With the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, QIA, having taken up a significant minority shareholding in the Audi F1 team, the equity Horner is seeking from his next career challenge may be available, although there are question marks over whether the team’s current governance structure would be forced to change should Audi hand over more of its shareholding.

There’s also the consideration that Horner has had recent dealings with the Volkswagen Group, which owns Audi, and Porsche, amongst others. While at Red Bull, Horner felt a deal to bring Porsche on board as a partner didn’t align with his team’s requirements, feeling the VW Group had sought too much control over the project – an aspect that could put him off a role with Audi.

Horner is also thought to still be a contender for a role with Aston Martin, with Stroll said to be eager to bring him on board in a CEO role, with equity. Reports that Stroll and Horner met recently are said to be inaccurate, but it’s understood there is regular contact between the two men.

Newey’s amenability to Horner’s potential arrival is said to be inconsistent, despite the two men’s own personal friendship.

But there still remains the distinct possibility of a Newey/Horner reunited alliance at Aston Martin, with Wheatley as the team boss, which would bring back together several of the key players of Red Bull’s past successes.

For Stroll, that prospect of having a tried and trusted axis of success is surely too attractive to ignore.

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