Audi Stuns With Major F1 Leadership Shake-Up

[Source: Audi]

In a stunning turn of events, after just two Formula 1 races with the Audi Revolut F1 Team, Jonathan Wheatley is out as Team Principal. Head of Audi F1 Project, Mattia Binotto will assume Team Principal responsibilities.

Earlier this week news broke that Adrain Newey was stepping down as the Aston Martin F1 Team Principal and that Wheatley would replace him. We didn’t give much thought to the speculation that Wheatley would move to Aston Martin as there were no formal announcements at the time. In addition, an in-season move like that would be highly unusual. But today, Audi announced that Wheatley would be stepping down “with immediate effect for personal reasons.”

“We are grateful to Jonathan Wheatley for his contribution to the project during the crucial entry phase and wish him all the best for the future,” says Gernot Döllner, CEO of AUDI AG and Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi Motorsport AG. “Mattia Binotto and the team will continue to pursue the path we have chosen with determination. Our focus remains unchanged: we are concentrating all our efforts on building a team competing at the highest level that will challenge for world championships in Formula 1 by 2030. We will continuously develop our organizational structures to achieve our shared goal in a sustainable manner.”

Does this mean that Wheatley will go to rival Aston Martin? There has been no formal announcement about that as of the time of writing. The Aston Martin F1 Team has had about as miserable a start to a Formula 1 season as you can possibly have. Neither car has finished either of the first two races so far. On top of that, the car is vibrating so bad that Fernando Alonso can’t even keep his hands on the wheel. By contrast, the Audi Revolut F1 Team scored championship points in their very first race.

Although Newey is stepping down as Team Principal, he will remain with the Aston Martin F1 Team but will focus on the technical aspects of the car. He and Wheatley know each other well as the two worked together for nearly 20 years at Red Bull. Pairing the two up again makes sense. But in the middle of a season like this? Leaving an Audi team that has just begun their Formula 1 journey? We won’t go so far as to say that doesn’t make sense, but it is certainly unusual.

No matter what Wheatley decides to do next, the Audi Revolut F1 Team was dealt a blow. They were certainly not thinking about replacing their Team Principal two races in their inaugural season. Let’s hope that Binotto can steady the ship and keep the team competitive in 2026.