Jonathan Wheatley has completed his first three races as Sauber team principal and, despite scoring no points, has seen positive signs and gained valuable insights
Jonathan Wheatley has had three intense weeks. The Englishman took up his role as the new team principal of the Sauber racing team at the beginning of the month and was immediately thrown into a triple-header that took him from Japan to Bahrain and then to Saudi Arabia.
Before Miami, however, Wheatley now has a little breathing space to let his impressions sink in. And what he has seen at Sauber shows him that there is still a lot of work ahead for the team, which will become an Audi works team in 2026. “I recognize the challenges we have here, but honestly, I see them all as opportunities,” he says.
Wheatley took a lot of notes and had a lot of meetings this week, after which the situation is clearer to him. “I’m now getting a clear picture of where the team needs a little support and where we can do things differently,” he says. “I definitely have a good idea of what we can do in the short term and what will take longer.”
He says he approached the task with a kind of 30-day plan and a 100-day plan, and doesn’t think his initial assessment was far off the mark.
“What surprised me is that it’s a young team,” Wheatley said. ‘There’s a lot of energy here, a lot of positive energy, which I think just needs to be channeled a little better.’
Pit stops a good indicator
For him, a good indicator of positive morale is always performance during pit stops – something Sauber has struggled with in recent years. According to him, that’s where you get most of the performance from a really positive and motivated team.
“And the guys did a pit stop in 2.3 seconds today,” he praised after the race in Jeddah. ‘Two or three months ago, no one would have expected that here. That’s a good sign for me.’
But first, he needs to consolidate his findings and translate all the elements into a plan. “I hope to be able to share with the team my extensive experience of what it’s like to be part of a large team and how it works. That includes anticipating problems that may only arise in three or four years’ time – problems that no one is even thinking about today,” says Wheatley.
“So it’s doubly exciting for me: working in a company where I have a job I love and can see directly where I can add value – but also knowing that I can go the whole way.”
At least there was no damage to the car
But in addition to its long-term plans, Sauber urgently needs to improve its performance if it doesn’t want to finish the 2025 Formula 1 season in last place again. Although the season got off to a good start with a surprising seventh place finish for Nico Hülkenberg in Melbourne, Sauber has not scored any points since then and has slipped back to last place.
“We’re still trying to understand this car,” says Wheatley, who is in constant contact with COO Mattia Binotto on this issue. ‘I think when you look at the field, it’s incredibly close at the moment. A tenth of a second makes all the difference. Two tenths change everything.’
Although Sauber didn’t score any points in the triple-header, the new team boss remains positive: “We came out of three races without any damage to the car. And for a Formula 1 team, that means you don’t have to constantly rush to produce replacement parts, but can focus on the parts you really want to build,” he emphasizes.
“That gives us a little breathing space to prepare well for Miami.”
