Wheatley Sauber/Audi F1 start date confirmed after Red Bull switch
Red Bull have confirmed Jonathan Wheatley will leave the team to become Audi's new team principal.
Jonathan Wheatley’s start date as Sauber/Audi F1 team principal has been confirmed, and that date is approaching fast.
Because as of April 1, Wheatley will begin work in his new position, meaning he will be in the hot seat in time for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Jonathan Wheatley starts at Sauber/Audi F1 on April 1
His F1 career stretching back to the 1990s, Wheatley became a Red Bull stalwart having joined the team all the way back in 2006, rising the ranks to become their sporting director.
However, Wheatley took the plunge of becoming a team principal for the first time by joining Sauber, which will become the Audi F1 works team under the new regulatory era from 2026.
Wheatley will lead the team alongside Sauber/Audi F1 chief operating officer and chief technical officer Mattia Binotto, with Wheatley’s arrival less than a month away as he prepares for his first race as team principal in Japan.
That race weekend at Suzuka will be Round 3 of 24 in F1 2025, taking place from April 4-6.
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In an Auto Motor und Sport interview, Binotto would spell out exactly how he and Wheatley will co-exist at the helm of Sauber/Audi F1.
Binotto previously enjoyed an extensive career at Ferrari – working his way up to the team principal role – ahead of returning to the sport with Sauber/Audi F1 last year.
“The areas of responsibility are clearly divided,” Binotto confirmed.
“He is responsible for all processes at the race track, for managing the drivers, communication, marketing and sponsors. I’m more concerned with what happens in the factory. In other words, team development, vehicle development and processes.”
But, with that in mind, will it be Binotto or Wheatley that gets the final say on any driver decisions at Sauber/Audi F1?
Binotto explained how that will work too.
“Then we will decide together,” said Binotto. “We have a similar background and are therefore on the same wavelength.
“In any case, together with Gernot Döllner, the chairman of the Board of Management of Audi, who is involved in the project. He is also involved and supports the project wherever he can.”
The team has a new driver line-up for its final season with the Sauber name, Nico Hulkenberg having joined from Haas to partner highly-rated rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, who steps up to Formula 1 after winning the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles back-to-back, an achievement pulled off by F1 peers Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri before him.
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