Wheatley leaves for Newey's spot at FIA team as Honda struggles persist

10 articles | Updated 1d ago | Created 2d ago

China FORMULA 1

Jonathan Wheatley has officially departed Audi to take over the role of Formula One Team Principal, a move that will allow Adrian Newey and his engineering staff full focus on car development amid ongoing technical challenges with Aston Martin's new power unit partner.

Key Points

1

Aston Martin is restructuring its upper management, with reports suggesting team principal Adrian Newey will step down to focus on technical matters.
2

Jonathan Wheatley has officially left Audi as the new target for Aston Martin's leadership role following his departure from Honda-related issues at other teams (contextualized by source snippets).
3

Aston Martin executives have dismissed rumors of a team principal change, though subsequent reports indicate active recruitment targeting Jonathan Wheatley.
4

The restructuring comes early in the 2019 Formula One season amidst ongoing technical and performance crises for Aston Martin.

Developments

[Mar 20] Reports confirm that Audi has announced Jonathan Wheatley's departure as team principal, with him set to join Aston Martin in the same role. Simultaneously, speculation intensifies regarding Adrian Newey stepping down from his position at Aston Martin.

[Mar 20] Aston Martin executive chairman Lawrence Stroll states that new arrangements for team principal roles are designed to allow them (specifically referring to Wheatley or potentially a transition) and addresses speculation about Newey's role.

[Mar 19] Aston Martin F1 dismisses rumors it will replace its current team principal Adrian Newey, stating the decision has not been made as they have only completed two races in a season plagued by Honda-related issues.

[Mar 19] Reports emerge that Aston Martin wants to hire Jonathan Wheatley from Audi so he can focus solely on technical matters, with Newey joining as managing technical partner early last year and being a team shareholder effectively serving the most senior figure.

Not satisfied by Fernando Alonso’s limbs, Aston Martin’s accursed car also consumes team principal:

Defector Defector 1d ago

Aston Martin has restructured its upper management after reports indicated Audi Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley would replace Adrian Newey as their new principal; however, less than 24 hours later confirmed the move was reversed due to personal reasons and that Aston had not yet officially appointed him.

F1: Duas corridas depois, já há danças de cadeiras nas direções das equipas

Prod-qt-images.s3.amazonaws.com Margarida Vaqueiro Lopes 1d ago

Stroll addresses speculation about Newey’s role after Wheatley’s Audi departure

Racer Chris Medland 1d ago

Aston Martin executive chairman Lawrence Stroll has clarified that Adrian Newey's role is intentionally designed as a partnership focused solely on strategic technical leadership rather than the traditional team principal title. This structure was established to leverage Newey, described by Stroll as an important shareholder and partner in success, while he remains supported for all other business aspects of Formula 1 operations at Aston Martin Aramco (AMR).

Jonathan Wheatley officially leaves Audi, before replacing Adrian Newey at Aston Martin

Motorsport 1d ago

Jonathan Wheatley is leaving his role as team principal at Audi Formula 1 ahead of joining Aston Martin in that same position following Adrian Newey's departure due to technical focus needs amid the new engine regulations' struggles with reliability and driver health concerns, including Honda power unit vibrations affecting race completions.

Wheatley officially leaves Audi ahead of expected Aston Martin move

Autosport 1d ago

Audi has announced that team principal Jonathan Wheatley is leaving to join Aston Martin in a similar role. Meanwhile, Mattia Binotto remains with the German manufacturer as head of their F1 project but will take on additional responsibilities including acting as interim leader while Audi continues its development toward challenging for championships by 2030.