Jonathan Wheatley | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1967-05-07)7 May 1967 (age 58) Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Occupations |
|
| Employers | |
| Title | Team Principal |
Jonathan Wheatley (born 7 May 1967) is a Britishmotorsport executive and mechanic. Since 2025, Wheatley has served as team principal ofSauber inFormula One; he previously served assporting director ofRed Bull, as well as chief mechanic ofBenetton andRenault.
Wheatley has contributed to eightWorld Constructors' Championship titles between1995 and2023: one as a mechanic at Benetton (1995), one as chief mechanic of Renault (2005), four as a team manager at Red Bull (2010–2013), and two as sporting director of Red Bull (2022–2023).
Wheatley began his motorsport career atBenetton as a junior mechanic in the early 1990s. He rose through the ranks at theEnstone-based team to become the chief mechanic from 2001 until 2006 when he left to joinRed Bull Racing.[1]
During his time in Enstone, the team won twoWorld Constructors' Championship titles and 33 Grands Prix.
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'spit crew, who were widely regarded to be among the best in Formula One.[2][better source needed]
Red Bull's pit crew broke the then-world record for fastest Formula One pit stop during the2019 Brazilian Grand Prix—servicingMax Verstappen'sRB15 in a time of just 1.82 seconds—beating their previous world record of 1.88 seconds set less than four months prior at the2019 German Grand Prix.[3][4][5] The record stood until the2023 Qatar Grand Prix, where it was beaten byMcLaren with a time of 1.80 seconds.[6]
On 1 August 2024, Red Bull announced Wheatley's departure as Sporting Director at the end of the2024 season to joinAudi as their first Team Principal, following a period of gardening leave.[7]
During his time inMilton Keynes, Red Bull have won six World Constructors' Championship titles and 120 Grands Prix.
Announced in August 2024, Wheatley was expected to join Sauber as their inaugural team principal in the summer of 2025 ahead of their2026 campaign as Audi.[7] However, following Team RepresentativeAlessandro Alunni Bravi's early departure at the end of January,[8] 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 theJapanese Grand Prix.[9][10] During this period, Chief Operating and Technical OfficerMattia Binotto served as the Team Principal temporarily for the team during theAustralian andChinese Grands Prix.
|
|
 | ThisFormula One biographical article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
