Sauber team boss Jonathan Wheatley reveals why he turned his back on Red Bull and how he plans to lead Audi to success in Formula 1
Jonathan Wheatley says he is enjoying taking Sauber’s mid-season upturn into 2026. That’s the year the team will officially become Audi Formula 1. The 58-year-old officially joined Sauber in April after leaving Red Bull and has already made noticeable progress in his short tenure as team boss.
At the Austrian Grand Prix, Gabriel Bortoleto scored his first Formula 1 championship points with eighth place. And at Silverstone, Nico Hülkenberg even secured his first podium finish in the 239th Grand Prix of his career with third place. Wheatley wants to build on this development as the team prepares for the transition to the Audi factory team.
“To be honest, I haven’t achieved much so far – except for a successful move to Switzerland!” jokes Wheatley on the sidelines of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where he was one of the prominent visitors last weekend.
Then he gets serious: “No, it’s really great to work with this team. Mattia had already done an enormous amount of work before I took up my position. So in a way, the ball was already rolling. Since then, I’ve been able to immerse myself in the team, understand how it works, provide a little impetus here and there – and now, sitting on the pit wall at Silverstone, I had that feeling for the first time: it’s all coming together.”
“My first race was Suzuka, the Japanese Grand Prix in April. Since then, I’ve done ten races in 13 weeks. It’s been an intense period. And from the moment we put the first upgrade on the car, you could feel the drivers’ confidence growing. Suddenly, they were able to push the car to the limit and string together several strong qualifying laps.”
“That put us in a position where we could really exploit our potential. Much of the groundwork had already been laid before I joined. That’s why I don’t want to stand here and take credit. It’s a great team that works here.”
“The progress isn’t just about the technical equipment, but also the coaching, the trust in the crew – and things like the pit stops, which are an expression of team spirit. When you see a team working in a relaxed manner and at the same time making fast stops, you know that this team is at one with itself.”
With an eye on the major new regulations package that will bring new chassis and engine rules in 2026, Wheatley is well aware that, despite Audi’s backing, the team has a huge task ahead of it. Especially in the battle against the established top teams. But it was precisely this challenge that prompted him to move from Red Bull to Audi in the first place.
For him, this is currently one of the most exciting projects in all of motorsport: “It’s almost exactly a year ago that I had my job interview,” he says. “I drove straight from Goodwood to Southampton Airport to meet with Audi. I’ve been on board ever since.”
“I grew up with these images… The Audi Quattros racing through the woods with flames shooting out of the exhaust! Audi has always done things its own way. It’s fantastic to be part of this journey. It’s probably the biggest project in motorsport right now. A great story. Great for Formula 1. And everyone should be excited about it.“
”But we have to remain humble in the face of the task ahead of us. It will be difficult to get to the level of the top teams. And to beat them, we need tremendous momentum. But I firmly believe that we will get there. We are well on our way. We have already been able to seize our opportunities in a few rain races.“
”Very soon, I will be wearing a shirt with four rings. And then I will be the happiest team boss in Formula 1.”
