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Former Red Bull Executive Exposes the Turning Point That Led to His Shock Departure From the Team

Jonathan Wheatley is just one of a handful of important Red Bull personnel who have left the team in recent years. The former Red Bull Sporting Director revealed that an article released after the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, just days after Adrian Newey left the team, sparked his departure from the team.

It wasn’t much later that Wheatley accepted the position as Sauber’s team principal. In his first year with the team, he has already led them to P6 in the constructors’ championship and helped Nico Hulkenberg achieve his first podium.

Why did Wheatley leave Red Bull?

In an interview with RacingNews365.com, Wheatley revealed that an article was released right after the 2024 Miami Grand Prix that teased his departure from the team. Wheatley, who purposefully tried to keep his name out of the headlines, said it created a difficult working environment and was the catalyst for his exit.

“I’ll be honest with you, there was an article that came out in Miami last year. I wasn’t happy. I had a very, very low media profile at the time, on purpose and then suddenly my name was in all the papers, which created a difficult situation at work.”

The article caused other teams to begin reaching out to Wheatley about jumping ship in the future.

“But what it did do, there were then a lot of approaches and you start thinking about [leaving] then, because people are obviously very interested in where you could be.”


One of the teams that reached out to Wheatley was Sauber, which will be transitioning to Audi in 2026. They were looking for someone who could lead them through the transition and into the new regulatory era. They decided Wheatley was that guy after spending 19 years with Red Bull and helping lead them to multiple championships.

Wheatley’s instant success with Sauber

A year ago, Sauber was the laughing stock of Formula 1. They scored four points across 24 races, all of which came in Qatar when Zhou Guanyu finished P8. Now, Wheatley has helped transform them into a legit midfield contender.

Through 12 races, Sauber is P6 in the constructors’ championship with 41 points. They’re currently five points clear of VCARB and Aston Martin and trail Williams in P5 by 18. They’ve scored at least four points in each of the last four races, including a P3 finish from Nico Hulkenberg in Silverstone last time out.

“Look at [Nico Hulkenberg] today, he just delivered an absolute masterclass. An extraordinary performance. The team made all the right calls. It feels like we’re going in the right direction now.”

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With the new regulations coming into effect next year, everyone starts from scratch. There’s still a long way to go before Sauber/Audi are contending for wins, but Wheatley has them heading in the right direction.

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