Mattia Binotto has detailed why Audi was drawn to Jonathan Wheatley for its team principal position, citing his championship-winning experience at Red Bull.
As head of the German car manufacturer's F1 project, Binotto is working closely with Wheatley, who assumed his position in April, after a period of gardening leave.
The fledgling operation has now taken over the old Sauber team ahead of its maiden voyage in 2026, when it will also become a power unit manufacturer for the first time.
The transition is no small feat and has been years in the making since Audi purchased the Hinwil-based squad, with an interim period as Stake seeing through the transformation.
Initially, Andreas Seidl and Alessandro Alunni Bravi had been at the helm. However, when the former was fired, Binotto was appointed in his place.
And when the latter left in early 2024, Wheatley was chosen as his replacement, touting almost two decades of experience at Red Bull, having cut his teeth in F1 as a mechanic.
First as the team manager at the Milton Keynes-based squad, the Briton became its sporting director in 2018, helping the team win its two most recent constructors' championships.
The Audi project is an ambitious one, with designs on competing for titles by 2030; after purchasing the Jaguar Formula 1 team for the 2005 campaign, Red Bull won its first crown in 2010.
Likening the transition from Sauber to Audi to joining the Champions League, European football's premier club competition, Binotto highlighted how vital Wheatley's knowledge of winning is.
"Audi was looking for the best they could," he explained in an exclusive interview with RacingNews365.
"And I think, with Jonathan, they found what could have been the best. So I think yes, the broader your experience, the better it will be for a team, certainly for our team, that needs to develop and to win the Champions League.
"So you need, first, a winning mentality. You need to know what winning the Champions League is about. And if you look at how many titles Jonathan has participated in, he certainly knows what it's about."
Binotto has experience in the role of team principal himself, having served as Ferrari's from 2019 to 2022.
Whilst the Italian and Wheatley's responsibilities are divided between them, they will work closely together to fulfil their respective duties.
In the same way that Sauber and Audi's cultures have now been blended, Binotto explained how his experience and Wheatley's can also be merged.
"I'm pleased because, in the end, I can bring my own experience," he said. "There is a different culture. Jonathan has got his own one as well.
"I think it's the mix of everything that makes it — somehow, I hope so — positive for the future."
Don't miss out on any of the Formula 1 action thanks to this handy 2026 F1 calendar that can be easily loaded into your smartphone or PC.
Download the calenderMost read
In this article
Interviews RN365 News dossier
Join the conversation!