Jonathan Wheatley poised for Aston Martin move
Jonathan Wheatley, team principal of Audi, is reportedly on the verge of leaving the German project to join Aston Martin, in a move expected to materialize during the 2026 Formula 1 season.
The British team is currently experiencing one of the most challenging periods in its history. In this context, Adrian Newey has been fulfilling the dual role of team principal and technical director since the start of the season. However, after a few months, Newey reportedly decided to step back entirely from operational management to focus exclusively on the development of the current car and, importantly, the Formula 1 cars planned for the coming years.
The decision stems from the belief that Newey’s maximum contribution can only be realized if he is freed from managerial responsibilities, allowing him to return to pure design and innovation work—the very same approach that has yielded an extraordinary number of world titles throughout his career.
Newey recommends Wheatley to Lawrence Stroll
It was Newey himself who suggested Wheatley to Lawrence Stroll as the ideal figure to take over operational management of the team. The two collaborated for nearly 20 years at Red Bull, where Wheatley served for an extensive period as sporting director. This mutual trust forms one of the pillars of the ongoing negotiations and largely explains why Aston Martin is decisively pursuing the British executive at such a delicate moment.
The brief chapter at Audi
Wheatley left Red Bull in 2024 to join Audi, officially becoming team principal in May 2025 when the German manufacturer fully took control of the former Sauber operation. During this period, he shared leadership responsibilities with Mattia Binotto, who oversaw technical development while Wheatley managed on-track operations and the team’s day-to-day management.
Gernot Döllner, CEO of Audi AG and a central figure in guiding the brand’s entry into Formula 1, described the Binotto-Wheatley partnership as the ideal combination to accelerate progress, emphasizing a long-term vision centered on resilience and motorsport innovation.
Reasons for the potential departure
According to Bild, Wheatley’s desire to return permanently to the United Kingdom plays a central role: his family wants to move back, and Aston Martin’s headquarters at Silverstone is just 32 km from Milton Keynes, the base he knows extremely well from his Red Bull days.
Professionally, the role offered by Aston Martin provides full control of track operations, without the need to split responsibilities as he currently does with Binotto. Added to this are internal frictions that have accumulated over time on various management and technical matters, making his stay at Audi increasingly unsustainable.
Lawrence Stroll has reportedly made a concrete offer, and Wheatley has emerged as the undisputed candidate, far ahead of other profiles previously considered. Sources close to the parties confirm that the agreement is very close, if not already reached verbally, although the official signing is still pending. Wheatley’s contract with Audi will almost certainly impose a lengthy gardening leave, likely lasting several months and potentially extending until the end of the 2026 season or beyond, to protect sensitive information regarding the power unit and technical development.
Audi has already scheduled an urgent direct discussion with its team principal to address the situation. Should Wheatley depart, it would represent a significant setback for the still-consolidating German project, precisely while Döllner continues to push for rapid and ambitious growth.
Prospects for both teams
For Aston Martin, Wheatley’s arrival is expected to bring immediate stability to operational management, allowing Newey to focus entirely on wind tunnel work, the test bench, and the design of future cars. At a time when the situation could hardly be worse, the team sees in the British executive the figure capable of revitalizing operations while keeping their ambitions high.
For Audi, the loss of Wheatley after such a short period represents a notable setback. The team will need to reorganize its leadership quickly, though technical development and power unit progress will continue without interruption, with Döllner determined to maintain the path toward long-term goals.
In less than two years, Jonathan Wheatley could complete a remarkable trajectory, moving from Red Bull to Audi and now to Aston Martin, returning to the United Kingdom to lead a team in deep crisis but with significant resources, and with the prospect of collaborating again with one of Formula 1’s greatest designers.
The “Wheatley case” highlights the intense volatility behind the scenes of the 2026 F1 grid. While technical regulations dominate the headlines, the movement of top-tier management is proving just as crucial to the future hierarchy of the sport. Whether this move provides the missing piece for Aston Martin or leaves Audi searching for answers, it reinforces the idea that in Formula 1, the right person in the right place is the ultimate performance upgrade.
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