On Thursday, PlanetF1.com revealed that Adrian Newey has been leading a months-long search for his successor as Aston Martin team principal, on a long-term basis.
As the evaluation and negotiation process continues with potential targets, Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley is said to have been identified as the primary target by Newey. Let’s take a closer look at Wheatley, an F1 paddock stalwart, and perhaps, the next Aston Martin team principal.
Who is Jonathan Wheatley?
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Jonathan Wheatley, 58, is a Formula 1 team executive born in Beaconsfield, England.
His F1 journey started in the early 1990s with Benetton as a mechanic, and he continued into that squad’s ‘Renault’ era.
Subsequently spending almost than two decades with Red Bull Racing, Wheatley got his first team principal gig at Sauber, which morphed into Audi when the German brand arrived on the F1 grid in 2026.
What has Jonathan Wheatley done in F1 so far?
Wheatley has experienced immense success in his Formula 1 career.
Wheatley was at Benetton during Michael Schumacher’s title-winning years with the team in 1994 and ’95. Benetton also won the Constructors’ title in the latter.
Wheatley rose through the ranks to become chief mechanic in 2001, a role he held until moving to Red Bull in 2006. By that time, Wheatley had also experienced Renault’s 2005 title double, as Fernando Alonso reached the F1 summit.
Starting out as Red Bull team manager, before transitioning to the sporting director title, Wheatley played a key role in the team’s 14 world title successes to date (eight Drivers’ and six Constructors’).
Wheatley left Red Bull after the 2024 season, and following a period of gardening leave, assumed the role of Sauber team principal in April 2025.
He oversaw an impressive upturn in performance for the team through the second-half of 2025, and remains as team principal of the Hinwil squad’s new incarnation, Audi F1.
Why are Aston Martin interested in Jonathan Wheatley?
Wheatley has a proven track record of success in Formula 1, and is a highly respected figure in the paddock.
Crucially, he is someone who Newey knows very well, the pair having worked together at Red Bull from 2006-24.
Newey, as managing technical partner and a team shareholder, is searching for the right person to bolster Aston Martin F1’s senior management structure, as his long-term successor in the team principal role.
Newey’s long-standing relationship with Wheatley, and knowledge of what he brings to the table, makes him an attractive target.
Why Jonathan Wheatley could want to join Aston Martin
It is true that Wheatley has only just began to sink his teeth into the Audi project, and is understood to be enjoying the challenge.
But, personal life factors are the only reason why Wheatley’s head could be turned by an Aston Martin offer, which, it is understood, has not yet formally been brought to the table.
Wheatley did receive a boost, though, when it came to uprooting and moving to Switzerland. A change of plan meant that his wife moved with him, too.
“Originally, I was going to have an apartment in Switzerland. My wife and I were going to keep the house in the UK and visit each other as and when,” Wheatley told RacingNews365 in 2025.
“But the moment Emma committed to coming to Switzerland as well, then the final piece in the puzzle fell in place.”
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Who could replace Jonathan Wheatley at Audi?
Potentially, Audi would not need to find a Jonathan Wheatley replacement.
Audi’s F1 chief Mattia Binotto steered the ship ahead of Wheatley’s arrival, and with friction understood to exist in the Wheatley and Binotto working relationship, it could be that Binotto takes sole charge, in a world where Wheatley did depart Audi.
Alternatively, could Audi swoop for another successful F1 figure who knows Wheatley well, in the form of Christian Horner.
Currently, Horner is going head-to-head with a Toto Wolff-led Mercedes bid, and others suitors, for a stake in the Alpine team. If Audi was willing to slice another piece of the ownership pie, and send it Horner’s way, then that would be a very attractive alternate route.
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is already a significant minority shareholder in the team.
Or, Audi could promote from within. Allan McNish, the former Toyota F1 driver, has become an integral part of Audi’s motorsport programmes, and heads the newly-formed Audi Driver Development Programme.
Audi’s first junior recruit, Britain’s Freddie Slater, told PlanetF1.com that the chance to work with “very cool people” like McNish factored into his decision to link-up with Audi.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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