Red bulls Long-serving sporting director Jonathan Wheatley will leave the Formula 1 champions at the end of the season to Audi team boss next year, both parties announced on Thursday.
Audi, which opens a Swiss branch Sauber joining the German manufacturer’s factory team from 2026, said he would start in July next year at the latest.
Red Bull said Wheatley would take a period of “garden leave” after the end of the 2024 season, without giving details. Wheatley helped Red Bull to six constructors’ world titles and seven drivers’ world championships in his 18 years with the team.
“Red Bull Racing has enormous strength and depth and this (departure) provides an opportunity to elevate others within the team,” said team principal Christian Horner. “We will announce a new team structure in the coming weeks.”
Former Ferrari Team principal Mattia Binotto joined Audi on Thursday to lead the Formula 1 project after previous bosses Oliver Hoffmann and Andreas Seidl left. Audi said Binotto, whose formal title is chief operating and chief technical officer at Sauber Motorsport, and Wheatley would share responsibility for the team with clearly defined roles.
The carThe maker’s CEO Gernot Doellner hailed a “decisive step” towards the team’s entry: “I am convinced that with both of them we have been able to combine an extremely high level of competence for Audi. Their experience and their ability will help us to quickly gain a foothold in the tough competitive world of Formula 1.”
Wheatley will focus on race performance and operational management of all race events, and will represent Audi at team principal level, while Binotto will be the link between the Hinwil factory and Audi’s engine plant in Germany.
“I have known Jonathan for many years and consider him an experienced and dedicated motorsport expert,” said Binotto. “I look forward to working with Jonathan to set up the new racing team for Audi and lead it to success.”
His departure comes after Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s chief technical officer and the sport’s most respected and sought-after designer, announced in May that he would leave in the first quarter of 2025.
That followed allegations about Horner that dominated the early part of the season. Horner was cleared in February of alleged misconduct, which he denied, towards a female employee who appealed the outcome.
Red Bull also ends its partnership with Honda at the end of the next season and make their own engine with the support of ford when the sport enters a new era of powertrains in 2026.
The Milton Keynes-based team leads both championships after 14 races, with Max Verstappen well on his way to his fourth title.