From mechanic to F1 Team Principal, Jonathan Wheatley has seen it all as he now prepares to steer the Kick Sauber F1 team into its full-works Audi era
There is an infectious energy to the Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber crew when we visit the paddock and garage on qualifying day at the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix.
In case you’ve missed it, Sauber will become the Revolut Audi F1 team for the 2026 FIA Grand Prix season, which also means the team colours will change from black-green to shades more suited to Audi Sport.
Audi’s enduring pedigree in motorsports is beyond reproach, with this writer a long-time fan of its rallying exploits since the era of the legendary Group B rally cars.
From WRC to WEC, with Trans-Am and IMSA, to Formula E and the Dakar Rally in between, Audi has competed in nearly every major motorsport discipline except F1, but the brand finally gets to cross it off its checklist come 2026.
See also: Revolut joins forces with the future Audi F1 Team
“You're looking at a company that has had motorsports running through its veins since the very beginning. As a car guy, it's what excited me about joining the project in the first place,” says Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal of the Kick Sauber F1 team.
The owner of a 20-valve Ur-Quattro adds: “I grew up as a kid watching these cars going through the forest with flames coming out of the exhaust. And I've said before, if you want to get a kid engaged with anything, have flames coming out of the exhaust!”
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Naturally, things are going to be different when Sauber transitions to Audi, a proper factory-supported full works team. “I think because we're sitting here at the track (in the team paddock), everything you see, feel, touch, experience, eat, trackside will be completely different, and will scream Audi. I've literally just been going through the slides for everything: new motorhome, new garage, back-of-house, front-of-house, hospitality, catering and so on. I can't tell you how excited I am about it, because we're going to be doing something very special and very different from the other teams,” adds Wheatley.
On the design front, the Audi Concept C has been stirring some strong reactions with its “radical simplicity” and "athletic minimalism" since its showing at this year’s IAA Mobility show. “We’re all very excited about it, and you won’t be surprised when you see some of its design cues trackside. There’s an evolution to what’s going on design-wise, and you’ll probably see some of its design cues appearing on the Formula One project,” he says.
Wheatley continues: “As Sauber, we're going from a small team that has been challenged to just put two cars on the racetrack for many years at times, to a full works, Audi F1 team, and this will be a very different proposition. There’s already a very different perception in the paddock. We won't expect to be in the last garage, and we’re already looking at a place further up the pit lane."
He continues, "Expectations are already higher, and this is what I'm here for. This is what Mattia (Mattia Binotto, ex-Ferrari F1) is here for. The ability with Mattia to share the joint leadership role moving forward is a very modern, progressive management structure, and I think this already shows the intent of Audi and the ambition in the team."
“We have an incredibly ambitious target. We're attempting to win races and championships at the end of the decade, and you're not going to get there without doing some very clever things.”
