Jonathan Wheatley

Jonathan Wheatley (born 7 May 1967) is a British motorsport executive and mechanic. Since 2025, Wheatley has served as team principal of Sauber in Formula One; he previously served as sporting director of Red Bull, as well as chief mechanic of Benetton and Renault.

Wheatley has contributed to eight World Constructors' Championship titles between and : one as a mechanic at Benetton (), one as chief mechanic of Renault (), four as a team manager at Red Bull (–), and two as sporting director of Red Bull (–).

Career

Formula One

Benetton / Renault (1991–2006)

Wheatley began his motorsport career at Benetton as a junior mechanic in the early 1990s. He rose through the ranks at the Enstone-based team to become the chief mechanic from 2001 until 2006 when he left to join Red Bull Racing.

During his time in Enstone, the team won two World Constructors' Championship titles and 33 Grands Prix.

Red Bull (2006–2024)

Wheatley previously served as Sporting Director and Team Manager at Red Bull from 2018 and 2006 respectively, his role at Red Bull included ensuring that the team operated within the FIA sporting regulations, monitoring communication and supervising Red Bull's pit crew, who were widely regarded to be among the best in Formula One.

Red Bull's pit crew broke the then-world record for fastest Formula One pit stop during the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix—servicing Max Verstappen's RB15 in a time of just 1.82 seconds—beating their previous world record of 1.88 seconds set less than four months prior at the 2019 German Grand Prix. The record stood until the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, where it was beaten by McLaren with a time of 1.80 seconds.

On 1 August 2024, Red Bull announced Wheatley's departure as Sporting Director at the end of the season to join Audi as their first Team Principal, following a period of gardening leave.

During his time in Milton Keynes, Red Bull have won six World Constructors' Championship titles and 120 Grands Prix.

Sauber / Audi (2025–present)

Announced in August 2024, Wheatley was expected to join Sauber as their inaugural team principal in the summer of 2025 ahead of their campaign as Audi. However, following Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi's early departure at the end of January, Wheatley's gardening leave ended early and he was released from his Red Bull contract earlier. He started his new role as Team Principal of Sauber on 1 April, three days before the . During this period, Chief Operating and Technical Officer Mattia Binotto served as the Team Principal temporarily for the team during the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix.

References

1967 births
Living people
Mechanics (people)
Formula One mechanics
Benetton Formula
Red Bull Racing

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