Red Bull has lost another key member of its team. Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley will leave the team at the end of 2024 to join Audi, where he will take up the role of team principal from mid-2025.
Wheatley leaves Red Bull after nineteen seasons in various roles. After a stint at Benetton, which later became Renault, he landed in Milton Keynes as chief mechanic, before becoming team manager and finally sporting director.
Wheatley is one of Red Bull’s longest-tenured employees, and one of Christian Horner’s first appointments as team principal. “Jonathan and I have had a long and successful relationship, spanning more than 18 years,” Horner said. “His contribution to six constructors’ world titles and seven drivers’ world titles, first as team manager and then as sporting director, will forever be an important part of our team’s history.”
Wheatley was tipped as a potential replacement for Horner last March when the latter was embroiled in the scandal, and his name had previously emerged as a possible replacement for Franz Tost at Racing Bull.
Jonathan Wheatley Sporting Director Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
It later became clear that Wheatley himself was exploring career development opportunities outside of Red Bull, rumours that were confirmed in a statement from Milton Keynes today. Wheatley will be required to serve a gardening period, but Red Bull has not disclosed the length of the enforced hiatus. Curiously, Audi has not yet responded to the news.
After the dismissal of CEO Andreas Seidl and F1 project president Oliver Hoffmann, Audi is reshaping the program’s top management. Mattia Binotto has taken on the roles of COO and CTO from today, and the former Ferrari team principal will be the person Wheatley will report to once he is based in Hinwil.
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