F1 boss frustrated by ludicrous work problem plaguing team

Jonathan Wheatley is pictured cropped in front of a typical work office full of staff at computers — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 boss frustrated by ludicrous work problem plaguing team

One F1 team has a major hurdle ahead of them

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 13 August 2025 17:56

F1 team principal Jonathan Wheatley has revealed the key factor hindering his team’s progress as Audi prepares to take over in 2026.

Since joining Sauber at the start of this year, Wheatley has been faced with the monumental task of transforming the team’s fortunes from a backmarker to a competitive outfit.

As 2025 have progressed, Sauber have enjoyed some headline grabbing moments, from Nico Hulkenberg’s first podium at Silverstone to Gabriel Bortoleto's first points; but according to Wheatley there is still a lot of work to be done with the team.

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"I expected a team that didn't have much energy to it and that was maybe slightly older in terms of demographic of people here. It's the opposite of that, actually. There's a huge ambition with this very young team,” he said to The Race.

"The facility doesn't help us at the moment. It's not a huge problem, but we have a development project for the facility to give people the space and the tools that they need. It's a relatively old building, an old wind tunnel now.

“We've had quite an ambitious recruitment drive, so office space has been difficult, and meeting space almost impossible - that's just the day-to-day things big teams can just take for granted. We're putting those building blocks in place, so we're still putting the foundations in.”

Can Audi become a competitive team?

Not only do Sauber and Audi have a former Red Bull sporting director in Wheatley to guide them forwards, but also former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto as their CEO.

Alongside their main factory in Hinwil and Audi's engine department at Neuberg an der Donau, a UK base is also in the pipeline for the team as they prepare to take a step up the grid.

In the past four grands prix, Sauber have scored more points than Red Bull a sign that the Audi project could be a successful one should the team’s infrastructure improve.

"We have to be humble about our journey, where we're trying to get to from where we started, but I can't see any impediments to that,” Wheatley continued.

“The team's young and full of energy, so it needs a bit of direction, a bit of structure.

"It's not because people are bad; there isn't a clear reporting structure, there isn't a clear process, people don't completely understand their roles and responsibilities and where they're free to make decisions. So there's a cultural project and there's a structural project under way as well."

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