Mattia Binotto holds Red Bull RB22 inspection at British Grand Prix

Audi F1 boss Mattia Binotto was spotted by PlanetF1.com examining the Red Bull RB22 on the grid at last weekend’s British Grand Prix.

It comes after PlanetF1.com revealed that Adrian Newey, the Aston Martin team principal, was also on the prowl.

Mattia Binotto inspects Red Bull RB22 at British Grand Prix

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Newey, who was installed as Aston Martin boss ahead of the F1 2026 season, is renowned for eyeing the designs of rival teams on the grid before the start of a race.

The 67-year-old made his third trackside appearance of the year at Silverstone – located close to Aston Martin’s factory – last weekend.

As reported by PlanetF1.com, Newey was caught studying Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull, the Ferrari SF-26 of Charles Leclerc and the championship-leading Mercedes W17 over the course of the British Grand Prix weekend.

Newey became the latest figure with an engineering background to take a senior management position in Formula 1 ahead of this season, following in the footsteps of the likes of Binotto and McLaren team principal Andrea Stella.

It has emerged that Newey was not the only team boss to seize the opportunity to examine rival cars on the grid at Silverstone, with Binotto also getting in on the act.

PlanetF1.com’s on-the-ground reporter Thomas Maher spotted Binotto paying attention to Hadjar’s Red Bull ahead of the sprint race last Saturday (below).

Binotto eyed the Red Bull RB22 while in conversation with a former colleague from Ferrari, where he served as team principal between 2019 and 2022.

The Swiss-born Italian was appointed chief executive of the Audi F1 project in the summer of 2024 before returning to frontline team boss duties following the departure of Jonathan Wheatley in March.

Wheatley’s exit was announced by Audi two days after PlanetF1.com revealed that he had emerged as Newey’s prime target to succeed him as Aston Martin team boss.

The pair previously worked together at Red Bull, with Wheatley expected to succeed Newey in due course.

Newey told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets earlier this year that he found his additional responsibilities as team principal “a little bit” distracting from his core work on design and development.

Analysis: British Grand Prix

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British GP 2026 driver ratings: Hamilton penalty, Verstappen crash, Leclerc’s luck

Audi went seven races without a point after starting the season with Gabriel Bortoleto’s ninth-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix.

The team returned to the points at Silverstone, where Bortoleto recorded Audi’s best result to date with eighth.

Bortoleto’s teammate Nico Hulkenberg is yet to get off the mark in F1 2026 having suffered his third retirement of the season in Britain. He also failed to start the season opener in Melbourne.

Audi sits ninth in the constructors’ standings ahead of next weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, trailing eighth-placed Williams by five points.

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