Kick Sauber have confirmed that Jonathan Wheatley will officially become their Team Principal on April 1st, 2025.
Wheatley, who has long served as Red Bull’s Sporting Director, was announced in the position last August, but the Swiss team stopped short of communicating an exact start date.
Now, that date has been finalised for the beginning of next month, with Wheatley’s race debut to follow at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Wheatley will lead the management team at Sauber Motorsport AG alongside Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technical Officer, Mattia Binotto. In their respective positions, both Binotto and Wheatley will report directly to Gernot Dollner in his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sauber Motorsport AG.
It comes as German car manufacturer Audi prepare to take over Sauber’s entry and make it their own works operation from the 2026 season onwards.
Wheatley’s career in F1 started with Benetton in the early 1990s where he climbed the ranks to become Chief Mechanic and remained there through the team’s Renault guise. He joined Red Bull’s new team in 2006, achieving significant success – including six Teams’ and seven Drivers’ titles – as Sporting Director.
Former Marussia Sporting Director Graeme Lowdon has been announced as the Team Principal of General Motors’ F1 project, ahead of the manufacturer potentially joining the grid in 2026.
On November 25th, it was announced that Formula 1 had reached an agreement in principle to support General Motors/Cadillac joining the grid as an 11th team in 2026.
Now it’s been announced that Lowdon will oversee the project, with the Brit having last seen active on the pit wall with Manor Marussia in 2015 in his role as the team’s Sporting Director.
Lowdon has most recently played a part in the management of China’s first ever full-time F1 racer Zhou Guanyu, who has departed Kick Sauber this year, alongside his work as an executive advisor for the General Motors project.
I’m truly honored to be appointed as the Team Principal of this exciting new team and I would like to thank everyone involved for placing their trust in me. I believe that Formula 1 is the greatest team sport in the world, and teams are all about people. This is a team with a real love for, and desire to go, racing, and we have the experience and expertise to do just that. Racing is at the very heart of everything that we do. This is what I want to see in a team, and I really want to be part of it. I don’t underestimate the task ahead and I have the utmost respect for the competition. I look forward to the challenge of racing. In the meantime, our work continues at pace. Lowdon on the news.
Graeme has been a pleasure to work with over the past two years and we’re excited he will lead our journey to the 2026 Formula 1 grid as Team Principal. He has great racing expertise, he knows how to assemble a high-performing team, and he embodies the values the Cadillac Formula 1 Team will represent in all its endeavors, on or off the track. General Motors President, Mark Reuss.
Graeme has been advising our team for the last two years as we have built out our operations; his experience on both the technical and managerial sides of Formula 1 and other motorsports ventures will serve him well as he builds the Cadillac Formula 1 team. Dan Towriss, CEO of TWG Global’s Motorsport business.
Brazilian racer Gabriel Bortoleto will be making his Formula 1 debut in 2025 after signing a multi-year deal with Sauber / Audi, with the team confirming that they are parting ways with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
Bortoleto fended off competition from 10 time race winner Bottas to secure the seat alongside Nico Hulkenberg in an all new lineup for the Hinwil based team next season and in 2026 when the team become Audi’s work squad.
The 20 year old reigning F3 Champion from 2023 is currently leading the F2 Championship with two rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to go.
He signed for Fernando Alonso’s driver management company A14 in 2022 and last year joined the McLaren driver programme, which gave him his first taste of F1 machinery with a test at the Red Bull Ring in a 2022 spec McLaren.
Bortoleto has impressed with his consistency in F2 this year with Invicta Racing, scoring two wins and three further podiums to lead Isack Hadjar by 4.5 points.
His Sauber/Audi deal will make him the fourth full-time rookie on the 2025 grid, joining Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, Alpine’s Jack Doohan and Haas’ Ollie Bearman.
He is also the first full time Brazilian Grand Prix driver since Felipe Massa, who retired at the end of 2017. His appearance comes after countryman Pietro Fittipaldi subbed in for Romain Grosjean for two Grands Prix in 2020.
Gabriel has already demonstrated in the junior categories that he has what it takes to be a winning driver. We are very pleased that he will become a team member of Sauber and Audi. Together with Gabriel, we are on a journey towards success, and we will evolve into a unified force to shape a new era for Audi in motorsport. Nico and Gabriel represent the ideal combination of experience and youth, positioning us strongly for the future. Sauber COO and CTO, Mattia Binotto.
This is one of the most exciting projects in motorsport, if not in all of sports. Joining a team that combines the rich motorsport history of Sauber and Audi is a true honour. Beyond simply being a member, I aim to grow with this ambitious project and reach the pinnacle of motorsport. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity given to me by the team and for the chance to work alongside an experienced driver like Nico. Both programs have a proven track record of nurturing young talent, and I am confident that together, we will write our own success story. Bortoleto on the news.
Led by Mattia, Audi’s Formula 1 project is making great progress in many areas. The signing of the second driver is another milestone. We are currently witnessing a generational shift in Formula One, with young drivers immediately making an impact. By signing Gabriel Bortoleto, we have secured one of these top talents. His signing underscores Audi’s long-term strategy and commitment to Formula 1. Chairman of the Board of Sauber Motorsport AG Gernot Dollner.
Jonathan Wheatley will be leaving his role as Red Bull’s Sporting Director to become Team Principal of the Audi F1 Team.
Wheatley has become a significant senior figure during nearly two decades with the organisation and played a major key role in winning 13 World Championships.
Red Bull say Wheatley will remain in his position until the end of the 2024 season, before entering a period of gardening leave in 2025.
The news comes just after it was announced Audi CEO Andreas Seidl and Audi executive Oliver Hoffman were leaving the project with ex-Ferrari Team Principal, Mattia Binotto arriving to head it up.
Binotto’s official title is Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technical Officer with Audi saying he and Wheatley will together head the new management team at Sauber Motorsport AG. In their new positions, both will report directly to Dollner.
Wheatley is now the second major player to this year announce their departure from Red Bull, with design guru Adrian Newey set to leave after almost 20 years with the team.
It has been a long and successful relationship with Jonathan, over 18 years. His contribution to six World Constructors’ Titles and seven World Drivers’ Championship, first as Team Manager and latterly Sporting Director will forever be a marker in our Team history. Horner on the news.
I am delighted that we have been able to gain Jonathan Wheatley as Team Principal for our future Formula 1 team. Jonathan has played a major part in many Formula 1 race victories and World Championship titles in his Formula 1 career so far, and has extensive experience in the paddock. He is a very valuable addition to our team. Gernot Dollner, CEO of Audi AG.
I am extremely proud to have been a part of the Red Bull Racing journey over the last 18 years and will leave with many fond memories. However, the opportunity to play an active part in Audi’s entry into Formula 1 as head of a factory team is a uniquely exciting prospect, and I am looking forward to the challenge. Also I am glad to be working together with Mattia, whom I have known for many years and who is the right person to collaborate with in this exciting project. Wheatley on leaving Red Bull for Audi.
I have known Jonathan for many years and rate him highly as an experienced and committed motorsport expert. 2026 is not a long time away now, and I’m looking forward to setting up the new racing team for Audi along with Jonathan and leading it to success. Binotto on joining forces with Wheatley.
Audi have announced former Ferrari Team Principal, Mattia Binotto is returning to Grand Prix racing as the new leader of their Formula 1 project.
Earlier this year German car maker Audi took full ownership of the Sauber team, which will be run under the Audi banner from 2026, with an all-new power unit currently being developed in-house in Germany.
Binotto, 54, will assume leadership of the operation on August 1st, as Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer based at the Sauber factory in Hinwil, Switzerland and will report directly to the board of directors.
As part of a restructure, former McLaren Team Principal Andreas Seidl – who joined Sauber in January 2023 and was CEO of the Audi team – is leaving alongside Audi executive Oliver Hoffmann, who was overseeing the project.
Binotto was Chief Technical Officer at Ferrari until being promoted to Team Principal in 2019. He left Maranello in 2022 after three years in the job, and having been with the Scuderia since the mid-1990s.
The first driver confirmed to be part of Audi’s new F1 project is Nico Hulkenberg, who will make the switch to Kick Sauber from Haas at the end of the season in what the German described as an “interesting” and “very exciting” move.
Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas and Chinese racer Zhou Guanyu have represented the Hinwil team since 2022, but the futures of both drivers are unknown beyond the end of the current campaign.
I am delighted that we have been able to recruit Mattia Binotto for our ambitious Formula 1 project. With his extensive experience of more than 25 years in Formula 1, he will undoubtedly be able to make a decisive contribution for Audi. Our aim is to bring the entire Formula 1 project up to F1 speed by means of clear management structures, defined responsibilities, reduced interfaces, and efficient decision-making processes. For this purpose, the team must be able to act independently and quickly. I would like to thank Oliver and Andreas for their important work in establishing our entry into Formula 1 and their commitment in preparing it. Audi CEO, Gernot Dollner.
Audi have reached an agreement with Sauber to make the Swiss Formula 1 operation their works team from 2026.
The German manufacturer announced in August that they will be joining F1 as a power unite supplier, when new regulations that feature increased electrical power and 100% sustainable fuels will be introduced in four years time.
Ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend, Audi said Sauber – who are currently running under the Alfa Romeo banner – will become their “strategic partner” for their F1 programme and that the automotive company plans to acquire a stake in the Sauber Group.
Audi will create their power unit at their base in Neuburg in Germany where already more than 120 people are working on the project – while Sauber will develop and manufacture their race car at their headquarters in Hinwil, Switzerland. Sauber will also be responsible for planning and executing the race operations.
Ahead of Audi’s arrival, Alfa Romeo will end their title sponsorship of Sauber a the end of the 2023 campaign. The Swiss team will continue to use Ferrari power units through to the end of 2025, before taking on Audi power for the following campaign.
Audi who are apart of the Volkswagen Group – say expansion of their Neuburg facility in terms of personnel, buildings and technical infrastructure should “be largely in place for 2023”. They intend to do their first tests of the 2026 power unit in an F1 test car in 2025.
We are delighted to have gained such an experienced and competent partner for our ambitious Formula 1 project. We already know the Sauber Group with its state-of-the-art facility and experienced team from previous collaborations and are convinced that together we will form a strong team.
Oliver Hoffmann, Audi AG Board Member.
The partnership between Audi AG and Sauber Motorsport is a key step for our team as we continue to make progress towards the front of the grid. To become Audi’s official works team is not only an honour and a great responsibility: it’s the best option for the future and we are fully confident we can help Audi achieve the objectives they have set for their journey in Formula 1.
Sauber Motorsport CEO and Team Principal, Fred Vasseur.
It is great news to hear that Audi will have a partnership with Sauber for their entry into Formula 1 in 2026. The combination of those two names is a very exciting prospect for our sport. It highlights the strong momentum that Formula 1 has and the belief in our strategy to further grow and enhance the sport while delivering on our sustainability plans to be Net Zero Carbon by 2030 with advanced sustainable fuels in the cars in 2026. We look forward to seeing their progress over the coming years and the car on the grid for the team’s first race.
German manufacturer, Audi will be joining the Formula 1 World Championship from the 2026 season as a power unit supplier.
The announcement comes after new power unit regulations, designed specifically to make it possible and attractive for newcomers to join the sport at a competitive level, were published earlier this month.
The 2026 power units, will maintain the current V6 internal combustion engine architecture but they feature increased electrical power and 100% sustainable fuels, which are the two factors Audi say were key to joining the sport.
Audi – who are part of the Volkswagen Group – added that it also supports F1’s future plans to be more sustainable and cost efficient, with a cost cap for power unit manufacturers introduced in 2023 as well as F1 setting a target of being Net Zero Carbon by 2030.
Audi Sport’s facility in Neuburg will be where the power unit is developed, marking the first time in more than a decade that F1 powertrain will be built in Germany.
Audi say there are already test benches for F1 engine testing as well as for electric motor and batter testing in their Neuburg base. They are now currently working on getting personnel, buildings and technical infrastructure in place by the end of the year.
Adam Baker, who has held several senior positions for manufacturers and teams in motorsport whilst also spending three years with the FIA, he will now run the Formula 1 project as CEO.
I am delighted to welcome Audi to Formula 1, an iconic automotive brand, pioneer and technological innovator. This is a major moment for our sport that highlights the huge strength we have as a global platform that continues to grow. It is also a big recognition that our move to sustainably fuelled hybrid engines in 2026 is a future solution for the automotive sector. We are all looking forward to seeing the Audi logo on the grid and will be hearing further details from them on their plans in due course.
F1 President and CEO, Stefano Domenicali.
Motorsport is an integral part of Audi’s DNA. Formula 1 is both a global stage for our brand and a highly challenging development laboratory. The combination of high performance and competition is always a driver of innovation and technology transfer in our industry. With the new rules, now is the right time for us to get involved. After all, Formula 1 and Audi both pursue clear sustainability goals.
Markus Duesmann, Chairman of Board of Management of Audi AG.
After months of speculation, Volkswagen’s chief executive, Herbert Diess has confirmed that Audi and Porsche will be entering Formula 1 in 2026.
It seems that Porsche’s plans are a little more certain at this early stage- which may see them link up with Red Bull for an engine programme.
Since last summer when both became involved in talks over F1’s next generation of engines from 2026, Audi and Porsche who are both apart of the Volkswagen group have been linked with joining the grid quite a lot.
Unofficial confirmation occurred in early April, as reported by Reuters, who are now attributing the official word to chief executive Diess in a Youtube video. There were not however any specific details although Reuters reported that Porsche “intends to establish a long-term partnership”.
Reuters are also sticking to their story from March that Audi have out a bid of 500 million euros for the McLaren team, which if accepted would enable them to enter Formula 1 as a constructor rather than an engine manufacturer. But Zak Brown shut down the not for sale talks but that ‘vert preliminary’ talks with VW had taken place.
McLaren aren’t the only potential option for Audi, Sauber operators of the Alfa Romeo branded team were close to selling to Andretti Autosport last year and already have a connection to Audi whose Le Mans cars were developed in the wind tunnel at Hinwil. It is also feasible that Williams’ owners Dorilton Capital could be interested in a deal.
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