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Aston Martin are interested in appointing Jonathan Wheatley as their team principal, and the praise that Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto has just shared in Japan shows why.
Bortoleto saw first-hand what Wheatley provided in the role of team principal at Audi, after working together since April 2025. The Briton took charge in Hinwil, Switzerland last year to help reshape Sauber ahead of Audi taking the outfit over to make their debut in F1 in 2026.
Guiding Audi’s debut in F1, under the watch of project lead Mattia Binotto, marked the first time that Wheatley worked as a team principal, after quitting his role as Red Bull’s sporting director. Yet Wheatley left Audi with immediate effect last Friday due to “personal reasons”.
Audi announced Wheatley’s exit within hours of links with Aston Martin emerging, with the Silverstone squad in talks with the Briton about replacing Adrian Newey as their team boss. Aston Martin want Wheatley to join so Newey can be freed to focus on improving their car.
Audi confirm Jonathan Wheatley’s exit – Who should take over as their team principal?
Gabriel Bortoleto praises Jonathan Wheatley for putting ‘everyone in a good place’ at Audi
Reports began to surface last Thursday suggesting Wheatley has already agreed to become Aston Martin’s new team principal, just 10 months after he joined Audi and just three after Newey added the role to his duties as the Silverstone natives’ managing technical partner.
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No contract has yet been signed, however, as Wheatley is in talks with Audi over the length of his gardening leave. Aston Martin are waiting on tenterhooks, and Bortoleto’s praise for Wheatley’s work at Audi shows exactly why Lawrence Stroll wants to land the 58-year-old.
Bortoleto said ahead of the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, via the official F1 website: “He did a very good job last year, and this year as well, I think. Everything was going quite smooth. He put everyone in a good place, [and] we were improving in a lot of areas.
“I think he brought some positivity to the team. And I think one of the things we always aim inside this team, not only with one person but with everyone, is that we are a team and we do things as a team, so we don’t depend on one person.
“Whatever he has done last year, whatever he has done this year, it doesn’t depend on one person. It’s going to keep going in this direction, I would say.”
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Aston Martin team owner Stroll will be thrilled if Wheatley agrees to replace Newey as their team principal and can put “everyone in a good place” in Silverstone like he did at Audi. It is said that Wheatley could take over Aston Martin from August after his gardening leave ends.
While Canadian billionaire Stroll has invested a ton of money into the factory in Silverstone, Wheatley faces a rather daunting challenge to improve the mood at Aston Martin. It is said that Aston Martin have a toxic blame culture for all of the issues they are facing this season.
Wheatley will have to tackle the job of improving the mood at Aston Martin head-on. Adam Williams has exclusively told F1 Oversteer that Stroll’s ego is “taking a bashing” from Aston Martin not enjoying the commercial benefits and brand exposure that success in F1 offers.
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