Wheatley explains what he can bring from Red Bull to Kick Sauber/Audi

Jonathan Wheatley has shared what he has been able to carry forward from his time with Red Bull through to his new role as Team Principal at Kick Sauber, with the Briton having “immersed” himself in the Hinwil-based outfit since joining back in April.

After starting his F1 career as a mechanic for Benetton back in 1991, Wheatley climbed the ranks within the squad over the years that followed – and through their subsequent guise as Renault in the early 2000s – before joining Red Bull in 2006.

Acting as Sporting Director, Wheatley worked for the championship-winning team until 2024, when it was confirmed that he would join Kick Sauber as their new Team Principal in April 2025 ahead of the outfit transitioning into Audi’s works squad for the 2026 season.

When asked during a chat with Sky Sports F1 if he had taken anything from his extensive stint at Red Bull to his new position, Wheatley reflected on delivering a “cultural philosophy”.

“You have to absorb yourself in the team, you have to immerse yourself in it,” he explained.

“You have to listen to what everyone has got to say, you have to try and work out why decisions have been made, why processes are the way they are, and you can very rarely just move a complete procedure from one team across to another – it just doesn't work.

“But what you can bring is a philosophy, you can bring a cultural philosophy as well. There's low-hanging fruit, there's been some of that to be had.

“It's a very young team and I think people forget that. A lot of people here only started in January or February so we're knitting together the team.

“We're on a journey, we're very much in the early part of that journey and we have to understand that we're starting from a humble beginning. I'm excited about it – we're making steps, we're gaining momentum, and of course this business is all about momentum.”

Entering into the second half of the season, Kick Sauber are in seventh place of the Teams’ Championship. Nico Hulkenberg is currently an impressive P9 in the Drivers’ Standings on 37 points, while rookie team mate Gabriel Bortoleto sits in P17 on a tally of 14.