Red Bull's sporting director named Audi F1 team principal

The management structure of Audi's new F1 team was revealed on Thursday when it was announced that Red Bull Racing's sporting director Jonathan Wheatley will leave his current team to join Audi as the new team principal.

The sporting director is one of the most important members of an F1 team and will be responsible for all trackside operations.

And Wheatley is one of the most successful in his role. He has been with Red Bull for 18 years, first as team manager and later as sporting director. During his time with the team, Red Bull won a combined 13 world championships, both drivers' and constructors' titles,

and he has been a member of the Red Bull team since its inception.

Red Bull announced that Wheatley would remain with the team through the 2024 season.

Audi has not revealed when Wheatley will start the season. However, Audi's first year in F1 is 2026. It will replace the current Sauber team, which has been fully acquired.

Wheatley is not the only executive about to leave Red Bull. Current chief technical officer Adrian Newey announced in May that he will leave the team in the first quarter of 2025. He has yet to announce his future plans.

Other executives have also recently left the team. Rob Marshall and Dan Fallows, who moved to McLaren and Aston Martin, respectively.

The news of Wheatley's arrival comes just a week after Audi announced the departure of team CEO Andreas Seidl and designated chairman Oliver Hofmann from the F1 project. At the same time, Audi named former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto as chief operating officer and chief technical officer.