From Vision to Victory: Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley on Leading Audi Into Its F1 Future

Photo Credit: Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

Jonathan Wheatley is one of the most quietly powerful figures in modern Formula 1 — a master operator whose influence has shaped championship campaigns from the pit wall outward. After almost two decades at Red Bull Racing, where he served as Sporting Director and became synonymous with the team’s ruthless precision and race-day dominance, Wheatley stepped into one of the most anticipated leadership roles in the sport as Team Principal of Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, soon to be the Audi F1 Team, for its highly watched 2026 entry. Known for his deep expertise, Wheatley — who is spearheading the team and the Audi F1 Project together with Mattia Binotto — represents a new generation of F1 leadership. I sat down with Wheatley during the Las Vegas Grand Prix to talk about his storied career and the exciting new challenge he has in store with Audi.

Photo Credit: Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

Photo Credit: Guido De Bortoli/LAT Images

Is there a particular race here in the States that excites you?

I’m a pretty positive person. I find the good in everywhere we travel. I love the season. I love the 24 races. I mean, look at it. We’re out here in Las Vegas. Look at the commitment of Formula One building over to the other side of us here. The cost of land here that they bought in order to build a pit complex. I get excited every time I fly into Vegas. It’s something special, but I enjoy every race for its different merits. I really enjoy Texas. That wonderful feeling in Austin. It’s a sort of student population almost, and a big music culture is exciting to be there. I enjoy Miami. I mean, how do you even begin to describe waking up in the morning and looking out over the Atlantic? Incredible.

What would you say is the greatest luxury that you’ve experienced through this career?

The luxury has been traveling the world. I can’t imagine a job that would have taken me to so many different countries, that I would have met so many different people. Travel broadens the mind. It’s not a cliche. It’s really true. I’ve had the opportunity to visit countries that I couldn’t even have dreamed of. That’s part of what keeps me excited. There’s always somewhere new, a new city to go to. Often I revisit the cities on holiday because you feel like you haven’t spent enough time there. I certainly haven’t spent enough time in America in my life. And that’s something I plan to do in the future.

Where specifically do you want to go in the States?

There’s so much to explore. I love driving. I enjoy classic cars and the idea of driving some of these coast roads—Route 66. I know it may sound cliche, but for a European it’s an exciting opportunity. I just can’t imagine having the time to do it in the short term. But there will be a time in my life when I get to experience it all.

If you were driving Route 66, what would the car be that you would choose to drive? You mentioned you love vintage cars.

There would be a different answer every day for the next two years.

Is there anything that you want to share about your journey, moving over to Audi or your current team?

One of the things that’s quite interesting for me is that I left Red Bull after 19 years. Why did I leave? Why did I decide to come and work at this team in Switzerland? It’s the exciting opportunity of the Audi Formula One Project. I’m a car guy. I spent my childhood watching Group B rally cars with flames coming out of the exhaust, going through forests. Trans Am cars. Rallying in general. It was just the kind of thing that made Audi part of my childhood, I suppose, and something aspirational for me. And then I find myself in this beautiful country, which was something I hadn’t considered with the role. I thought an awful lot about what the job might look like, what the challenges might be with a small team on this transition to becoming a works Formula One team. But I hadn’t really thought about how wonderful life in Switzerland would be and how rewarding it is. I live by a lake now. Behind the apartment is a mountain, and I can get in a cable car and be on the top of the mountain in half an hour. In the evenings now I can grab my wife and the dog, go and drive to the lake, have a drink and watch the sun go down over the mountains. It’s an incredibly safe, clean country. That’s the bit of the journey that’s been the most surprising to me.

Is there anything else you want to share?  

We’re at an exciting stage on this journey from becoming a small team in Switzerland whose aspiration is to race two cars on a Sunday, be reliable and then go back home again. Our aspiration in the future is very different. We want to be challenging for races and championships at the end of the decade. To get there is going to be an exciting journey. We want to invite everyone on that journey with us, become fans of ours. It’s going to be an exciting journey, and we’d like everyone to be along with us.

And there’s going to be many more wins in your future.

That’s the plan.

Photo Credit: Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber