Jonathan Wheatley has stepped apart as Group Principal of the Audi F1 workforce.
Mattia Binotto will assume the Audi F1 Group Principal position.
Audi cited “private causes” for Wheatley’s departure, however he is already been tapped to be Group Principal at Aston Martin.
Audi has had a gradual begin in its 2026 Components 1 debut. The workforce has simply two factors and presently sits in eighth place general after two races. However apparently, Group Principal Jonathan Wheatley has seen sufficient.
In line with Motorsport.com, Wheatley has stepped down from his position as workforce chief. Audi cites “private causes” because the trigger for this transfer—however Wheatley reportedly is not stepping away from F1 fully.Â
Picture by: Audi
Wheatley is allegedly leaving Audi to handle Aston Martin. If Audi faces a tough begin this season, Aston Martin is in an excellent more durable spot. Powertrain points have saved the British workforce from scoring any factors to date this season. The Adrian Newey-designed AMR26 apparently faces a severe uphill battle this season.
Stories recommend that the Honda powertrain unit vibrates so harshly that it causes harm to the battery system. The vehicles are primarily unable to finish a race at this level. The truth is, Aston Martin has moved Adrian Newey down from Group Principal to concentrate on the automobile’s technical points.
Jonathan Wheatley will allegedly soar into Newey’s vacated position. If true, there’s solely upside potential from right here on out for Aston Martin. But, the sensation was the identical at Audi, which is why this transfer appears so shocking.
We sat down with Wheatley forward of the pre-season livery reveal for the Audi R26. He appeared excited to helm the model’s first entry into this top-tier degree of motorsport. In any case, Audi is an organization that does not half-ass issues in the case of racing.
When Audi competes, the purpose is to win—and to take action comparatively rapidly. Wheatley may’ve left his mark on the game by serving to Audi fulfill its plans. However the attract of attempting to show round a struggling British carmaker’s effort clearly proved too nice.
Motor1’s Take: Audi cites private causes, however we expect this can be a mixture of a transfer again to the UK, coupled with large quantities of money. Maybe Wheatley sees some nationalistic pleasure in serving to Aston Martin try to maneuver up within the F1 pack. Regardless, leaping ship from Audi after simply two races may sign higher considerations for the four-ringed race workforce than we anticipated from such a storied motorsport competitor.
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