Latest news with #JonathanWheatley
Daily Mirror
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Inside Sauber's Audi F1 transformation as new boss opens up in new interview
Jonathan Wheatley sat down with Mirror Sport at Imola to discuss his first six weeks in charge, how the transformation to Audi is going and gave the inside track on Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg This weekend's Imola race marks 600 appearances in Formula 1 for Sauber. And, yet, the team finds itself once again at the very beginning of its story. A rebirth will take place next year, as the Switzerland-based outfit slowly turns into the Audi works team. It marks the first time the world-famous German carmaker has entered in F1. And preparations have been ongoing for years now, since long before the public announcement at the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix that Audi had decided to grab a slice of the pie. Plenty of things have already changed. Hinwil, near Zurich, will continue to be home to the outfit, but engines are being designed and built in Neuburg, Germany, while a satellite base is planned for the UK later this year to leave, of all the teams on the grid, only Ferrari without a presence in 'Motorsport Valley'. And then there's the top personnel. Jonathan Wheatley joined as team principal in April this year, after almost two decades as a key player in the success of Red Bull Racing, while a recent restructure saw former Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto named head of Audi's F1 project. "Very clearly, we're going to look like a very different team from the moment the garage doors open next year," Wheatley told Mirror Sport at Imola. If that includes from a performance perspective, then that will be very welcome. Last year was a chastening experience for the most part and saw Sauber score just four points, when Zhou Guanyu finished eighth in Qatar – the penultimate race of the 2024 season. They have already bettered that tally with the six points scored by Nico Hulkenberg on the opening day in Melbourne. But still Sauber sit bottom of the constructors' championship with 18 rounds still to go in what looks set to be another transition year before the Audi era officially begins. Despite that, Wheatley seems convinced that he won't have to work too hard to keep staff motivated. He said: "I ask myself, how do I keep motivated, how do I keep pushing forwards? If you look at this Audi F1 project, I mean, honestly, is there a better news story in sport full-stop at the moment? Is there a more exciting project to be a part of? Everyone should be excited, it's a great brand, this is a great team with a great history that we're celebrating this weekend. "It's an exciting time, honestly, so you just have to look at the future, you have to relentlessly look at continuous improvement, you have to relentlessly look to the positives and feel those incremental changes as they come along and just continuously improve. And then I think the focus is so far forwards, what's happening at the moment is just, you know, happening." One key decision already made is who the first Audi drivers in F1 will be. Nico Hulkenberg was signed early in 2024, having enjoyed a very successful return to the sport with Haas, and it was later confirmed that he would be joined by rookie Formula 2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto, after they missed out on top target Carlos Sainz. "I'm completely comfortable with our driver selection," said Wheatley, who joined after both had already been signed. "They work brilliantly together, they look each other in the eye, they have a great relationship with each other. Gabi is like an open book, he's trying whatever he can to learn." Hulkenberg is not a bad driver to learn from at all. Sunday's Imola race will be his 234th start in F1 making him the third most experienced driver on the grid behind only Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. Assuming he sees out his Audi contract, which runs for now until the end of 2026, he will break into the top 10 of drivers with the most race starts in history. 'I've known Nico for a long time... I've always liked him from the very beginning, actually, as a character, as a person, the way he's presented himself," said Wheatley. "That time he turned up in Covid and just jumped in a Formula 1 car. When he jumped in at Le Mans and won. He's an extraordinary talent – we don't need to talk about that. "But what he's doing here is being a mentor for Gabi in many ways. On one side you've got this tremendous experience, also this incredibly level-headed approach. And Gabi's learning from that. "I really think we've got an incredibly strong driver pairing in that respect. We've got all of the experience and proven speed of Nico, plus we've got this raw talent in Gabriel, who's learning from the right side and with a tremendous work ethic. The team is benefiting as a result." Bortoleto has yet to score a point since stepping up to F1, but the general consensus is that he is a promising young driver who has not yet been given a car in which he can show what he can do. "Hopefully we'll have a car soon where we can do him justice," Wheatley said, adding that the Brazilian driver is "not at all" being judged on the number of points he scores this year. "I think our car's capable of Q2 and I think hopefully we can prove that. I think with Gabriel, you're just going to see more and more and more come out of him in terms of performance. "But more than that, the way he can read a race, he has that capacity in the car to be able to read the race, look at the situations, look at the timing, look at the video screens. And that's a great sign, isn't it? All the great drivers are capable of doing that. It's either natural or not." It's not necessary to ask what the long-term aim for the Audi project is – the answer would be the same for every team up and down the grid. They are all licking their lips at the prospect of using the 2026 rule changes to fast-track their progress to the front of the grid, though the reality remains that someone still has to finish last. Everyone at Sauber is a bit fed up of doing that, and Audi have an excellent record when it comes to success in every form of motorsport they have ever entered. "Our goal is ambitious but clear. We're not here to mess around – we're here to win races and win world championships," said Wheatley. "We need to put ourselves on that path. We need to, as Audi have it every time they've entered any form of motorsport, do it slightly differently to everyone else, and we're looking at ways of doing it differently because we know we've got a very ambitious target, you know, and we need to deliver on it. "So we're trying to straighten the corners and find the shortest route there. But as I've said at the beginning, we're not underestimating the task and there's no arrogance or ego here. We know what we're up against and we're going to be pragmatic and we're going to make the steps we need to make to get there." "I am genuinely tremendously excited about what we can achieve. I've seen so many things that we can do differently already and it's a case of just getting on that journey and getting the team on the journey there. The difficult thing would be if the team wasn't ready to change or wasn't looking to change, but there is, there's a capacity to and there's an energy to."
Time of India
10-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
FIA Rules: 'It's a major performance differentiator': Stake F1 team boss Jonathan Wheatley on tightened FIA testing and possible F1 pecking order change
Team Principal of Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber Jonathan Wheatley has made a dire warning before the next Spanish Grand Prix , implying that a change in Formula 1 's pecking order is possible because of a new FIA rule aimed at curbing flexi-wings. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The adjustment takes effect at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and is intended to curb wing flexibility at high speeds — something Jonathan Wheatley thinks will radically change team performance. FIA's flexi-wing crackdown to shake up grid; mid-pack teams see opportunity Everything you need to know ahead of the 2025 Spanish GP 🇪🇸 The Spanish round will be the first event of the 2025 season to feature more stringent FIA tests for aerodynamic flexibility, specifically for the front and rear wings. While some teams are already modifying their designs in preparation, others have stated that they are confident that no drastic changes are needed. Jonathan Wheatley, who transferred to Stake F1 from Red Bull this year, thinks the impact of this regulatory adjustment could be immense, particularly considering the closeness with which frontrunners and midfield teams are currently finishing. Talking of the new rule, Jonathan Wheatley said, 'It's a major performance differentiator, so I think you're right; it could be a change in the order. You look at how tight it is at the front and in the midpack; a little change like that could have a huge difference.' The current Formula 1 standings are led by McLaren, which has taken an early stranglehold on the championship by winning five of the first six races. Red Bull Racing and Mercedes are closely behind, while Stake F1 finds itself at the bottom of the Constructors' Championship, still searching for momentum in a transitional season before becoming Audi's official works team in 2026. This rule alteration might be an unusual chance for Stake F1 to close the gap. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Wheatley accepted the challenge but emphasised the plans to continue developing the team: 'We have a programme in place for upgrades,' he said. 'What we're trying to do is understand all of the development that we've done so far and put together a slightly more focused package than we've done before. I don't want to put a timeline on that just yet.' Spanish GP might be a critical juncture in 2025 F1 title battle As regulations clamp down and the title contest heats up, the Spanish Grand Prix may turn out to be a turning point of the season. If the FIA's tests for flexi-wings affect front-runners more than expected, the gate may be opened for struggling teams like Stake F1 to move up the standings. Also read: Wheatley's comments are shared sentiment in the paddock — that even small regulatory changes can spread throughout the grid with dramatic scale. Those with the best flexible engineering departments and flexible upgrade routes may have their biggest payback in Barcelona.
BBC News
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Chequered Flag Extra: Colapinto In & Wheatley On Audi
Harry Benjamin & the BBC's F1 correspondent Andrew Benson react to the news that Alpine have replaced Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto for the next five races. It comes in the same week that Oliver Oakes leaves his role as Alpine team principal. We also hear from Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley, who sits down with Jennie Gow to discuss his F1 career and his new role at Sauber before the transition to Audi in 2026.
TimesLIVE
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Audi F1 project boss Baker leaves by mutual agreement
Former Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto is head of the overall project with Jonathan Wheatley, who joined Swiss-based Sauber in April from Red Bull, leading the race operations as team principal. Sauber, last in the constructors' standings after six races, are becoming the Audi factory team next season when the sport also starts a new engine era. Audi's engines are being built in Bavaria but Sauber/Audi are also setting up an engineering base in Britain. "We would like to thank Adam Baker for his commitment over the past years," said Gernot Doellner, chair of the Volkswagen-owned brand. "He played a decisive role in shaping the overall strategic concept for the entry of Audi into Formula One and got the development of the power unit in Neuburg off the ground. "With Christian Foyer, we are bringing a proven expert in process structures in F1 powertrain development into the project. "His experience will help ensure the synergistic cooperation and necessary speed on the journey we have embarked on regarding the debut." Baker was a veteran of the former BMW Sauber team, a project that soured and led to BMW's departure in 2009.
Reuters
11-04-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
All parties committed to 2026 F1 engine rules, says FIA
SAKHIR, Bahrain, April 11 (Reuters) - Teams and manufacturers are committed to Formula One's new engine era from 2026 and will continue to discuss future options, the governing FIA said on Friday amid speculation about an eventual return to V10 or V8 engines using sustainable fuel. The sport is set to continue next season with 1.6 litre V6 turbo hybrid power units but using a far more powerful electrical component than currently and running on fully sustainable fuel. Formula One has also been considering a possible return, also powered by sustainable fuel and perhaps some way down the road, to the naturally-aspirated V8 or V10 engines whose noise is missed by many. A meeting of stakeholders at the Bahrain Grand Prix to discuss current and future power unit direction was "constructive", the FIA said in a statement. The meeting was attended by representatives of Audi, Ferrari, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mercedes, Red Bull and Sauber. "All parties are committed to the 2026 regulations and look forward to the prospect of exciting racing," the FIA said. "All parties agreed to continue discussions on the future technical direction of the sport. "A level of electrification will always be part of any future considerations. "The use of sustainable fuel will be an imperative." The FIA added that whatever future engine 'roadmap' was decided on, the governing body would support teams and engine manufacturers in ensuring containment of costs, taking environmental considerations into account and acting in the best interests of the sport. Sauber principal Jonathan Wheatley, whose team will become Audi next year, told reporters the meeting had the best interests of Formula One at heart. "That was the basis of the entire conversation, and the feedback I've had was very encouraging," he said. "What I would say just talking about 2026 is that Audi is very clear about its position. "The reason they've got involved in the sport is the excitement around the three pillars that we see as really important – the first one being a highly efficient engine, the second one being an advanced hybrid system and, of course, sustainable fuels being the bedrock of that."
