3 things to know about Jonathan Wheatley, Audi's future team principal

He started as a… mechanic

We knew the team principals, former pilots or former engineers. Jonathan Wheatley managed to reach the top of the hierarchy of a team despite starting out as a mechanic. A great example for all ambitious mechanics dreaming of managerial responsibilities. The Englishman is rather the loyal type, since he stayed 15 years enstone and 18 years old Milton Keynes. It was at Benetton in 1991 that he started as a junior mechanic, notably alongside Nelson Piquet, then Michael Schumacher, with whom the team was double world champion (1994 and 1995).

In 1998, he became Chief Mechanic and remained loyal to his team when Renault took control and put an end to it, with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006, to Michael Schumacher's streak of consecutive titles with Ferrari. It was only in 2006 when he arrived at Red Bull – a team whose foundations he would help build – that he rose to prominence by becoming team manager until 2017. He notably contributed to the formation of the pit stop team, renowned as being the best for several years.

He played a crucial role with Michael Masi in Abu Dhabi in 2021

What few people remember is his crucial intervention on the radio with Michael Masi during the controversial outcome of Abu Dhabi 2021. As sporting director (he was appointed in 2018), Wheatley was the attendant discussions with race management if necessary. And suffice to say that on December 12, 2021, he played his role perfectly.

Christian Horner was almost replaced by Wheatley last winter. © Florent Gooden / DPPI

Thanks in particular to his good knowledge of the regulations, he put pressure on the Australian race director and obtained what he wanted: a final lap of the race with Max Verstappen on fresher rubber than Lewis Hamilton, even if it means bypassing the safety car procedure regulations. “These latecomers, you don’t need to let them catch up and get to the back of the pack”, he blurted out. “Just let them pass, and then we’ll have one last lap of the race.”. The rest, we know it…

He came close to becoming Red Bull's new team principal last winter

Last winter, Christian Horner found himself in the middle of a situation that had become extremely complicated, and which had the gift of greatly weakening his position as team principal, he who is the most experienced in the profession with 20 seasons at Red Bull. Caught in a whirlwind following the accusation of inappropriate behavior to which he was subjected by his former secretary, Red Bull's staff launched an internal investigation.

As the Austrians considered a possible replacement, Jonathan Wheatley's name rose to the top of the list. The Englishman would undoubtedly have been appointed if Horner had not been cleared by the internal investigation. There is therefore no real surprise to see him take on this new role that he so aspired to, with a major manufacturer like Audi.

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