What Jonathan Wheatley might have done that upset Christian Horner at Red Bull

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Red Bull Racing have been incredibly successful during their time in Formula 1, but things are rapidly changing within the Austrian team.

Team principal Christian Horner will lose his chief technical officer Adrian Newey and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley heading into 2025.

Newey’s next destination is not known yet, although Alpine are suddenly desperate to sign Newey.

Aston Martin also want to bring in Newey and this tug-or-war may only delay the 65-year-old making a final decision.

On the other hand, Wheatley’s next outfit on the grid was announced during the summer break.

Red Bull took Audi by surprise by confirming Wheatley would be joining Formula 1’s newest team ahead of their 2026 debut.

Wheatley will be installed as Audi’s team principal, working underneath fellow new recruit Mattia Binotto.

Speaking on the ams.F1 YouTube channel, Michael Schmidt shared more details about Wheatley’s relationship with the Red Bull hierarchy.

Wheatley had ambitions to become Red Bull’s team principal one day and when speculation over Horner’s future was mounting, he appeared to be the most likely replacement.

However, Wheatley’s alliances within the Red Bull garage may have made his decision to leave the team easier for Horner to swallow.

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Jonathan Wheatley sided with Helmut Marko over Christian Horner at Red Bull

Speaking about how Wheatley had potentially been in line to replace Horner as team principal if he left Red Bull, Schmidt said: “So in the phase where you had to say, I’m now on Marko’s side or on Horner’s side, he may have sided with Marko a little too much.

“That doesn’t mean that he’s being fired, it was just the way it was.

“They couldn’t give him any opportunities for advancement and they didn’t make it particularly difficult for him to say goodbye.

“I think he was relatively high up in terms of salary and we all know the budget cap is a problem for the big teams, especially for teams that have long-standing employees like Jonathan Wheatley, who was already at a level in terms of salary.

“There’s not much more that’s possible and when you can’t offer him anymore and someone else comes along, you turn the corner with someone who’s been offered a more attractive post and more money.”

READ MORE: All to know about Jonathan Wheatley as Audi/Sauber sign new team principal

Jonathan Wheatley has a huge task on his hands ahead of Audi’s 2026 F1 debut

Although Horner is Red Bull’s team principal, Marko is arguably just as important to the running of the team.

Marko and Max Verstappen’s contracts are connected, meaning keeping the experienced Austrian onside is of paramount importance.

Newey and Wheatley were both close allies of Marko and with two members of the trifecta now moving on, there may be less reason for Verstappen to stick around, especially if Red Bull fail to re-establish their lead over the rest of the pack.

Verstappen won’t be joining Wheatley at Audi though, as he has to watch on from the sidelines next year during his gardening leave to see whether Sauber can turn around their recent disastrous form.

Sauber have yet to score a point in 2024 and need to find a rapid solution soon to avoid being cut adrift of the rest of the grid.