HINWIL, Switzerland (AP) — Team principal Jonathan Wheatley has left the Audi Formula 1 team just two races into its rebranding from Sauber, following reports Aston Martin was seeking to sign him as it tries to turn around a troubled season.
Audi said Friday that Wheatley, who took charge of what was then the Sauber team in April 2025, was leaving “with immediate effect for personal reasons," and suggested there's more change to come.
Mattia Binotto, a former Ferrari and Sauber team principal who was in charge of the transformation into the Audi works team, including building its own engines, will now replace Wheatley as well ahead of next week's Japanese Grand Prix.
“The team’s future structure will be fully defined at a later stage, as the organization continues to adapt to the evolving environment of Formula One,” Audi said in a statement.
The announcement came a day after media outlets, including the BBC, reported that Aston Martin had approached Wheatley about a potential move.
Any move to Aston Martin would reunite Wheatley with former colleague Adrian Newey, the Formula 1 car-design great who took on team principal duties in what's been a woeful start to 2026 for the team.
Newey and Wheatley previously worked together at Red Bull when it was F1's dominant team.
Aston Martin owner and executive chairman Lawrence Stroll issued a statement Friday which didn't name Wheatley but expressed confidence in Newey in his role as “managing technical partner", and said the team doesn't follow “the traditional team principal role that you see elsewhere.”
Stroll added: “We are regularly approached by senior executives of other teams who wish to join Aston Martin Aramco, but in keeping with our policy, we do not comment on rumor or speculation.”
Aston Martin has lacked pace at the start of a new engine partnership with Honda and struggled with vibrations which damage the car's battery and affect the drivers.
Fernando Alonso retired from last week's Chinese Grand Prix because of “discomfort” caused by the vibrations, the team said, and Newey previously warned of the risk of nerve damage.
Audi has had reliability issues of its own with two failures to start races, but showed stronger pace with a ninth-place finish for Gabriel Bortoleto at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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