After Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley is another key figure to leave Red Bull. The British mechanic will join Audi in 2026 as their team principal after the takeover from Sauber. The move will deeply affect Red Bull, who will particularly miss his level-headed nature. That trait of Wheatley came in handy when the Austrian outfit once found itself in a deep state of panic.
YouTube F1 content creator Aidan Millward shed light on a four-year-old incident when Wheatley’s heroics turned the tables for Red Bull and Max Verstappen. At the 2020 Hungarian GP, Verstappen lost control of his car under wet conditions and crashed his car into the barriers on his way to the grid.
With a broken front wing and front suspension on Verstappen‘s RB16, the entire team was in a panic. However, Wheatley remained calm to chalk out a plan to fix the car. A stickler for the rules and regulations, he knew what to fix, and how to fix it without taking any penalties on the grid itself, with 20 minutes to the race start.
Hungary 2020 is still an underrated race for me..
Broke the car right before the race and went from P7 to P2, amazing work by the whole team. pic.twitter.com/jAimc6dMgM
— Donny Verstappen (@DonnyVerstappen) March 14, 2023
Not only did the crew manage to fix the car within the 20-minute stipulated period, but they also had just over a minute to spare before the race started. However, fear once again struck them when Verstappen reported issues with the parts that were barely put together. Wheatley once again remained calm as he knew the result depended on Verstappen, and Verstappen only.
The future three-time champion made the most of what was at hand and brought the car home in P2. He finished between the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton in P1 and Valtteri Bottas in P3. That was a heroic showing not just from the Dutchman but also from Wheatley, who Red Bull will sorely miss after his departure.
Is blaming Christian Horner for Wheatley’s departure correct?
Horner came directly under fire as soon as Red Bull announced Wheatley’s exit. Many, including fans and F1 journalists alike, believed it was a result of the internal power struggle at Red Bull. Millward, however, argues against it.
If Horner had resigned/gotten fired by Red Bull GmBH earlier this year, Wheatley would’ve likely taken over as TP and not left for Audi.
That man’s ego and thirst for power is destroying this team from within.— Adit¹ (@aditstappen) August 1, 2024
He sheds light on Wheatley’s aim to become a team principal, an ambition he held for quite some time. Given there was no opening for the position at his incumbent team, it was only natural for him to look for it elsewhere.
The Red Bull sporting director got that offer from Audi who are making some high-profile hirings before the start of their F1 project. The news of Wheatley’s arrival has come just a few days after they announced Mattia Binotto’s signing. The former Ferrari boss will serve the team in the capacity of the CTO and COO of the team.
