German manufacturer Audi has confirmed that Mattia Binotto and Jonathan Wheatley will jointly head Sauber Motorsport AG’s new management team, as it announced its new management structure.

Red Bull confirmed earlier this week that Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley would be leaving the Austrian-British team and taking on a new challenge by taking on the role of Team Principal at the Audi F1 Project.

Wheatley will continue in his role at Red Bull for the rest of the year before joining Audi, then taking some time off to tend to his gardening business in 2025.

Wheatley’s Formula One career began in the early 1990s with Benetton Formula One, where he rose to chief mechanic. He then moved to the newly formed Red Bull Racing team, where he enjoyed great success as Sporting Director. During his time at Red Bull Racing, Wheatley was involved in winning six Constructors’ World Championships and seven Drivers’ World Championships.

Audi recently confirmed that Binotto and Wheatley will jointly head the new management team at Sauber Motorsport AG. In their new positions, both will report directly to Gernot Döllner, who serves as Chairman of the Board of Management of Sauber Motorsport AG.

The Ingolstadt-based manufacturer claims that they will “take joint responsibility for the success of the racing team.” There is a clear distinction between tasks and responsibilities are defined separately.

As COO and CTO, Mattia Binotto takes over the operational management of Sauber Motorsport AG at the site in Hinwil and the technical development of future race cars. In this role, he is the overall technical interface between the development teams in Hinwil and Audi Formula Racing GmbH at the Audi site in Neuburg an der Donau, which is responsible for the development of the power unit.

By July 2025 at the latest – Jonathan Wheatley will complete Audi’s new management team for Formula 1 in his role as Team Principal and management spokesman. He will focus primarily on the racing performance of the future F1 factory team, the operational management of all racing events and representing Audi at Team Principal level on Formula 1-related matters.

The decision in favour of a dual management team is part of the reorganisation of the control structure of the future factory team in the context of Audi’s full takeover of all shares in the Sauber Group. “With the appointment of Jonathan and Mattia, we have taken a decisive step towards entering Formula 1,” says Gernot Döllner.

“I believe that together they both combine an extremely high level of competence for Audi. Their experience and talent will help us quickly establish ourselves in the fiercely competitive world of Formula 1.”

Commenting on his new role, Wheatley said: “I am incredibly proud to have been a part of the Red Bull Racing journey over the last eighteen years and will leave with many fond memories.

“However, the opportunity to play an active role at the helm of Audi’s Formula 1 factory team is a uniquely exciting prospect and one that I look forward to taking on. I am also delighted to be working alongside Mattia, whom I have known for many years and who is the right person to work with on this exciting project.”

Commenting on Wheatley’s appointment, Binotto said: “I have known Jonathan for many years and admire him as an experienced and dedicated motorsport professional.

“2026 is not too far away and I look forward to building the new racing team for Audi together with Jonathan and making it a success.”