Will Buxton thinks Audi already have the ‘perfect’ replacement for Jonathan Wheatley

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Audi have confirmed that Jonathan Wheatley has left the team with immediate effect, and Will Buxton believes they already have the “perfect” replacement in Allan McNish.

The German brand announced this Friday that Wheatley had resigned from his role as team principal due to “personal reasons”, only 10 months after he took up the position. Wheatley only started working for Audi ahead of their debut in F1 as the boss of Sauber in April 2025.

Audi project lead Mattia Binotto has now added the responsibilities of team principal to his role in the wake of Wheatley’s exit, which came amid reports that Aston Martin are keen to hire him. Adrian Newey is now said to be relinquishing the Aston Martin team principal role.

It has even been suggested that Wheatley has already agreed to join Aston Martin, although those claims have been played down to a degree. Additionally, Audi could force Wheatley to spend the rest of 2026 on gardening leave before he could begin working with Aston Martin.

Audi confirm Jonathan Wheatley’s exit – Who should take over as their team principal?

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Will Buxton thinks Allan McNish is the ‘perfect’ replacement for Jonathan Wheatley at Audi

Binotto has previous experience of being an F1 team principal, as he held the role at Ferrari from 2019 to 2022, which Audi will now call on after Wheatley’s resignation. Audi intend to take their time before the German team decide on a permanent replacement for Wheatley.

READ MORE: Who is Jonathan Wheatley? All to know about the former Audi team principal

Yet Buxton feels Audi already have the “perfect” replacement for Wheatley in McNish. Audi appointed McNish as the director of their new driver development programme this January, marking the Briton’s latest role at the brand after overseeing a successful spell in Formula E.

Buxton noted on X: “As Audi F1 look to define their future structure, there is a man already on their books and who has led them to FIA team glory in Formula E who, to me, feels as though he would be a perfect fit. Allan McNish ticks every box.”

McNish was the team principal of Audi’s Formula E team from 2017 to 2022, before he took on a consultant role for Sauber in 2024 ahead of the German brand taking over the F1 team for their debut in 2026. Now, McNish is moulding Audi’s F1 driver development programme.

Additionally, the Briton – who raced in Formula 1 with Toyota in 2002 – has a storied history with Audi in endurance racing. After scoring an outright Le Mans 24 Hours win with Porsche in 1998, McNish won outright at the Circuit de la Sarthe for Audi in 2008 and again in 2013.

McNish even won the 12 Hours of Sebring with Audi in 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2012, before moving into a leadership role with Audi in Formula E. Lucas di Grassi won the 2016/17 FE title with Audi, and McNish led Audi to the 2017/18 Formula E teams’ championship, too.