Audi team boss to succeed Adrian Newey at Aston Martin?

Jonathan Wheatley, the Audi team principal, could come to Aston Martin to replace Adrian Newey, who has led the Silverstone squad since last November, according to reports.

The development ripped through the world of F1 like wildfire, with some sources treating the deal as a fait accompli. However, there has been no official announcement.

In response to the eruption of rumour, Aston Martin let it be known that it considers it "media speculation" and that Newey will continue to lead the team as team principal and managing technical partner.

Audi also did not want to take a position; in its brief communication, the brand with the four rings referred to the fact that it is keeping an eye on media reports, but that it does not have anything official to report "at the moment", and that it does not wish to comment on speculation. 

RacingNews365 also approached Wheatley himself, but the Briton, who has held the position of team principal since last April, could not be reached and did not respond to the approach.

The matter caused great uproar in the Formula 1 world, but since no official announcement has been made, industry sources consider it likely that the deal probably did not materialise, and the contract presumably was not signed. 

Phone call from Stroll

Most agree that Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll, whose team has suffered a disastrous start to the season, is believed to have contacted the Audi team boss and made him an offer.

It is also not out of the question that Wheatley is inclined to switch, but in all likelihood, the deal has not yet been finalised.

Since Newey took over as team boss last November from Andy Cowell, who is still with the team, the rumour persisted that the move was a temporary fix.

The suboptimal start to the season reinforced the idea that the British design genius needs to focus primarily on the technical side, further fueling the headhunting that has also been active in recent months.

In recent weeks and months, Aston Martin has been linked to former Red Bull boss Christian Horner, as well as Andreas Seidl, who led McLaren and, for a time, also the preparations for Audi's Formula 1 programme.

According to information shared with RacingNews365, negotiations were held with both on several occasions, and according to some sources, consultations also took place recently, but a deal did not materialise. 

Prior to Christmas last year, the name of Giampiero Lambiase also came up; Stroll reportedly approached Red Bull's head of race engineering, who, however, decided to stay with the Milton Keynes-based team.

Mandatory gardening

Given developments in recent weeks, it is clear that Aston Martin would need an immediate solution, but the situation is complicated by the fact that, due to mandatory gardening leave, Wheatley would not be able to join until, presumably, mid- or late 2027 at the earliest.

The question also rightly arose: Is it worth switching teams in this situation? Wheatley began his career in Formula 1 as a mechanic and proved himself at every level before reaching the position of team boss, which he got at Audi, a promising new project.

However, there is no question of complete power at the brand, as he works with Mattia Binotto as CEO and 'head of the F1 project'.

There would obviously be no question of complete power at Aston Martin either, where Lawrence Stroll is at the top of the hierarchy and where managing technical partner Adrian Newey, who also owns an ownership stake, would also be above him as team principal.

Given the current difference between the two teams, the Aston Martin deal could be interpreted as a step down at this point.

Some sources say that behind the move, if it takes place, would be the 58-year-old's desire to return to the United Kingdom.