Jonathan Wheatley (Sauber): "I want to be my own Team Principal, to lead the team in my own way"

It was in new colours that we saw Jonathan Wheatley circulating in the paddock of Formula 1, since the Japanese Grand Prix. Indeed, since April 1st, the British engineer is the new Team Principal of the Sauber team. After spending nearly twenty years at Milton Keynes With Red Bull, as sporting director of the Austrian team, the native of Beaconsfield (United Kingdom) opens a new chapter in his career, on the eve of an immense challenge with the arrival of Audi in Formula 1 in 2026.

"There is energy in the company with this transition between Sauber and the Audi F1 project, he confided last Friday, on the sidelines of the Bahrain Grand Prix, regarding his taking up of post at Hinwil. I feel like I'm in the right place, to be honest. My family and I moved to Switzerland, which is an amazing country, which I'd sort of visited but never stayed in. Honestly, we're making a home for ourselves, and I feel very, very good at Sauber."

Wheatley, experience as his main asset

More than thirty years after his first steps in Formula 1, as a mechanic at Benetton in 1991, Jonathan Wheatley has climbed all the ranks to reach the role of team principal. Now at the head of a Formula 1 team and an exciting project with the German manufacturer, the English manager will be able to draw on his long and rich experience with world champion teams (Benetton, Renault and Red Bull) and various inspirations from former work colleagues to take Audi to the top. Nevertheless, the new Sauber Team Principal wants to impose his own style on the management of his team.

"I think I've learned from everyone I've worked with in this field over the past 34 years. I wouldn't focus on any one person, because this job is a constant learning exercise, he assured. I'm open to listening, to observing people's reactions. People you respect, people you've worked with for a long time. I worked at my last team (Red Bull) for 19 years. I want to be my own Team Principal. I want to lead the team, with Mattia [Binotto], in my own way. I've always been pretty sure of my thoughts and opinions. I have a plan that allows us to start this transformation journey and keep the momentum going. I'll keep referring to it, but what matters is the people, the team members. That's what interests me."

Combining three cultures in one team

Among his first missions within his new formation, Jonathan Wheatley will have to ensure the transition between Sauber and Audi as well as the relationship between the base under construction near Oxford (United Kingdom) and the factories in Hinwil (Switzerland) and Neuburg an der Donau (Germany), where Audi's infrastructure is located. A marriage of three structures that is not unknown to him, he who had experienced this same situation with Benetton and Renault during the golden era of the teamenstone and the Viry-Châtillon engine manufacturer. Jonathan Wheatley's immediate priority will be to try to familiarize himself with his new environment and attempt to marry these three different cultures to prepare for Audi's arrival in 2026.

"What I've found is that so far, I don't see any problems in terms of language, the way people get along. There's an openness to learning. I'm going to try to learn German... but I don't want to be tested on that in the next few weeks, please." the British leader joked. That's part of the challenge of this position, we're looking to broaden our horizons a little bit. This is a small team that's transitioning to becoming a fully-fledged Formula 1 team. There are a myriad of projects we need to complete. One of them is bringing people together. As a team, we have to accept that we're in an uncomfortable position because change is coming. We have to be at the forefront of that change and we have to have a clear roadmap for where we're going, and I believe we're on that roadmap right now."

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