ANALYSIS: Why has Wheatley left Audi so soon – and is he going to Aston Martin?

Close to a year since Jonathan Wheatley stepped into his role as Team Principal of Kick Sauber, which has become Audi's works team for 2026, the Briton has parted ways with the Formula 1 team with immediate effect.

It is a remarkable turn of events. Wheatley had come on board to lead the race team into its new era as Audi, working in a dual leadership role with Mattia Binotto, who assumed responsibility for the German manufacturer's debut Formula 1 engine operation and the chassis base at Hinwil.

The duo had known each other for a long time and thus slipped seamlessly into their new roles. It is believed they were dovetailing well – and that was evident in the solid steps forward the team has taken both at the track and at the factory.

Their offices sat adjacent to each other in Hinwil, Switzerland, with a joining door that Wheatley had previously told me was more often open than closed. That allowed for plenty of chatter and brainstorming throughout the day as they delivered the rebuild.

Wheatley was relishing the role of Team Principal, too, having harboured ambitions of such a role throughout his two decades spent working at Red Bull where he rose up to Sporting Director – and based on sources inside the team, he was very good at it.

Alongside that, Binotto has made great strides with the engine project and revitalising the chassis base, which has its foundations in the Sauber team that Peter Sauber founded in 1993 but has suffered from years of underinvestment.

Audi have made a strong start to life in F1, scoring points on debut with Gabriel Bortoleto in Australia and almost making that back-to-back scores in China, with Nico Hulkenberg just missing out on a score in 11th and looking like they could contend at the top of the midfield.

However, sources say Aston Martin showed interest in Wheatley recently, enquiring whether he would consider coming across to Silverstone to become their Team Principal. Such a deal would enable Wheatley to return to living in the UK with his wife.

The iconic British brand have had a difficult start to 2026, with new works power unit supplier Honda struggling to deliver reliability or performance that is hampering their progress.

Aston Martin have been assessing their options with regards the Team Principal role, since Adrian Newey took on the duties in addition to his already significant role as Managing Technical Partner late last year.

It was intended that the expanded role would be temporary but with Aston Martin struggling, finding a way to free Newey up to focus purely on his expertise – making a fast race car – without the distraction and intensity of the day to day running of the operation has become more pressing and thus Wheatley entered the picture.

It is understood no deal has been done to sign Wheatley, with Aston Martin boss Lawrence Stroll saying in a statement: "With the current speculation surrounding Adrian Newey’s role in our team, I want to take this opportunity to set the record straight.

“As Executive Chairman and Controlling Shareholder, I would like to reaffirm that Adrian Newey is my partner and an important shareholder. He is AMR’s Managing Technical Partner, and he and I have a true partnership built on a shared vision of success for the company.

“We do things differently here, and while we don't currently adopt the traditional Team Principal role that you see elsewhere – it is by design.

“As the most successful engineer in the history of the sport, Adrian's primary focus is on the strategic and technical leadership where he excels. He is supported by a highly skilled Senior Leadership Team to deliver on all aspects of the business, both at the Campus and trackside.

“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 rumour and speculation."

It remains unclear what is next for Wheatley and it is highly likely he will be required to serve gardening leave before being in a position to take on another role.

Meanwhile at Audi, Binotto will assume Wheatley's Team Principal duties, as part of his role as Head of Audi F1 Project, on a permanent basis.

The management change comes just shy of two years after it was announced Binotto was stepping in to lead the project and take over from Andreas Seidl, a year ahead of Wheatley joining.

Audi will now reset with their revised formation and crack on. The German manufacturer, together with the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar who are a minority stakeholder, have and will continue to invest heavily in the team as they aim to contend for world championships by 2030.

Over at Aston Martin, it is expected discussions will continue regarding the shape of their Senior Leadership Team, with Wheatley obviously now available pending gardening leave.