Red Bull Alert: Newey and Wheatley Could Poach Key Personnel

Eighteen years together

Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley had started working for Red Bull in 2006 – reaching two top positions such as that of technical director and of sports director – before deciding in 2024, a few months later, to leave the team with which they won a whopping 7 drivers’ and 6 constructors’ titles. Both courageous and surprising choices, favored by the great internal instability of the first months of the year which certainly did not create an ideal working environment.

Red Bull Blender

First the case concerning the employee’s complaint towards Christian Horner, then the many rumours surrounding the internal power struggleswhich saw the team principal and the Thai ownership on one side and Helmut Marko, the Verstappens and the Austrian branch of the company on the other.
After months, a difficult outcome has been achieved sort of meeting point of conveniencewith Marko having put it in writing that he will remain until 2026 – thus blocking any possible idea of ​​Max Verstappen leaving – and Christian Horner and Jos Verstappen appearing to have returned to civil terms in recent times.

Certainly the speed shown in recent races by McLaren and Mercedes has advised the parties to abandon all ‘politics’ for concentrate exclusively on the track and on the defense of the leadership in the drivers’ and constructors’ championship, with Red Bull arriving at the summer break with an unusual streak of 4 races without a win. And in this scenario Jonathan Wheatley’s farewell therefore came as quite a surprise (especially to some influential figures in the team…) who will become team principal at Audi from 2026.

More goodbyes?

As underlined by the well-known German journalist Michael Schmidt Of Car, Motor and Sportalways aware of interesting behind-the-scenes information from the paddock, Red Bull would be very worried from Newey and Wheatley’s decisions to leave, not only because of the specific weight that both had within the team. The journalist explains: “Both Wheatley and Newey will hurt Red Bull. Regardless of where he goes, Newey will bring some technicians with him of Red Bull, who will not be able to work immediately, but after the gardening period. Obviously he has his friends in the design department. Lately he tends to give ideas, but not define them in detail and therefore he will try to bring along some trusted people”.

And Wheatley, according to Schmidt, will also try to snatch some key figures from his former team: “He also has his allies in the team and will try to bring them to Audi”. For the German journalist, the timing of the truce at Red Bull was too late: “If they had closed the matter by March or April, they might have been able to retain Newey. But now they have lost both him and Wheatley, two people of excellent value. And because of their value, this will certainly have an impact on Red Bull”.