INTERVIEW: Why only Audi could tempt Jonathan Wheatley away from Red Bull

When Audi came calling, off the back of an article in a national newspaper last May that suggested he was looking to follow Adrian Newey out of the door — bearing in mind the technical genius had just handed in his notice — there were no second glances.

Wheatley, who had served Red Bull well as sporting director, accepted the role as team principal of Sauber, moreover knowing it would be transitioning into Audi in 2026, ending the German manufacturer's long wait to grace F1.

"I'll be honest with you, when that article came out, I wasn't happy," said Wheatley, speaking to this writer in an interview with RacingNews365. "I had a very, very low media profile at the time, on purpose. Suddenly, my name was in all the papers, which created a difficult situation at work.

"But what it did do, there were then a lot of approaches, and you start thinking about [leaving] because people are obviously very interested in where you could be.

"I guess also my mindset there was, I'd signed a lock-in contract, and I would honour that from start to finish. I'm not the sort of person who signs a contract and then tries to wheedle my way out of it because there's a slightly different offer.

"When I commit to a team, I commit to it. You know, 16 years at Benetton/Renault, 19 years at Red Bull, and I have no intention of leaving here [Sauber/Audi] either, so that opened up a lot of conversations with many teams."

Ultimately Audi was a no-brainer. It has solid foundations, namely the Sauber heritage and factory in Hinwil, Switzerland, since it first joined F1, despite the numerous transitions and associations with BMW, Alfa Romeo, and currently Stake.

As Audi, it instantly becomes an F1 giant. Its renown and success in sportscars is naturally no guarantee of the same in the most rarified of motorsport air, but it is hard to envisage it being an also-ran, as the team has been for many years in its current guise.

Audi has been attracted to the sport by the new power unit regulations, which primarily include a major revision of the power unit and the use of 100 per cent sustainable fuels, with the systems to be built in its state-of-the-art factory in Neuburg, Germany.

Yes, its main rivals, particularly Mercedes and Ferrari, have an edge given their history, but this is as good a level playing as Audi could wish for, unlike, for argument's sake, starting from complete scratch as Cadillac will be doing next year as F1's 11^th team.

"I didn't need to leave the UK to further my career, but none of [the talks he held] came close to how exciting the Audi project is," said Wheatley, who started his new role on 1^st May. "I still get excited about it now. It's still a ‘pinch-yourself’ moment when you realise that next year there's going to be a complete transformation. You won't recognise how different it looks.

"And to be part of that journey again, like I was in my previous one from the very beginning, I can't tell you how exciting it is. Nothing could have come close."

Wheatley concedes the speculation that swirled around him last year, once it became known he might be available, was "a little uncomfortable", before he eventually "got used to it". The timing of such gossip, however, was appropriate.

"It came at the right point in my career," he said. "I found myself sat in my office I'd been in for 19 years, looking out the window at trees that I couldn't see when I'd started, and wondering whether I wanted to do another five, six, seven, eight, ten years, watching the leaves fall in the autumn and grow again in the spring in that same office.

"I don't think any of the UK [job opportunities] would have got me out of that office, but [Audi] did."

Overall, Wheatley has spent approaching 40 years in F1, starting as a number two mechanic with Benetton, a role he thought he would do "for a couple of years", only to get "completely caught up and absorbed in the sport. I just fell for it, absolutely hook, line, and sinker."

Despite learning from various managers along the way, Wheatley said he built up his "own methodology in terms of how I like to build a team and the kind of team that I like to work in."

As new kids on the block, Red Bull afforded Wheatley the opportunity to plough his own furrow. "I wasn't just messing around with a team that only just existed," he said. "It was, ‘right, roll your sleeves up and get stuck in’.”

"I was able to move things around a little bit. The testing ban in 2009 allowed me to really reshape the team, to look at everything, smash it up and start again from the pieces.”

"From that point onwards, I was able to put the foundations in place of the team you see today, putting in structures in terms of bringing in new talent into the business, and training that new talent. It all kind of started there, and just evolved over time.

"I learned so much in that period about the right ethos for a team, the right methodology, what level of detail you have to go into, and just how much pressure you have to put on yourself to make sure that you do not leave an i undotted, or a t uncrossed. It all stood me in great stead for where I'm sat now."

What Wheatley has experienced over the years, he says, has given him "tremendous perspective", that he has lived through the various peaks and troughs, akin to riding a rollercoaster.

"I've lived through it, and I've a lot of experience, and that's what I'm trying to bring to bear in the team here," he said. "I know where to keep my eyes focused, to not get caught up in too much of what's happening around me.

"My role here initially was to try to do a bit of an evaluation of where we are and where I can add some value early on, but also to keep the vision on the future and to make sure that we're well prepared for what's going to happen over the next two, three, four, five years.”

"I get the rollercoaster analogy, but I see it as a bit more of a captain at sea. Sometimes it's smooth sailing, sometimes there are some big, heavy waves, but you're constantly looking at where you're going."

Wheatley has at least been accustomed to success more than most. He was at Benetton when Michael Schumacher won the first two of his seven Drivers’ Championships, and then with Red Bull when first Sebastian Vettel, then Max Verstappen ruled for four consecutive years apiece.

They say success breeds success, and whilst naturally difficult for one man to instil that in an entire team of 1,000 people, Wheatley at least knows what is required.

"In each one of those championship years, I've learned what it takes to get through it at every level in the sport, and at the level I am now I think I'm as well prepared for that as I could ever have been," he said.

"My education, in that respect, has been very strong. I understand the politics involved, the pressure that gets applied at the time, and I know how to turn that into positive energy within the team and not a negative one.

"I know how to keep your eyes on the prize and not get distracted by the day-to-day shenanigans in this paddock, as I'm sure you're aware, and I'm really thinking that I'll be adding value at that point, more than I am now."

Images courtesy of Getty Images.