Jonathan Wheatley has already used Red Bull to make one ‘amazing’ Sauber improvement during the 2025 F1 season

Jonathan Wheatley has his feet firmly under the desk at Sauber after leaving Red Bull following an 18-year stint.

The 58-year-old left Milton Keynes to become Sauber’s team principal in 2025. The team will become Audi in 2026, with Wheatley preparing extensively behind the scenes for the German manufacturer’s arrival in F1.

Wheatley has appeared ‘reinvigorated’ at Sauber after a lengthy spell at Red Bull. He was one of the first people the team signed in February 2006 after he helped Fernando Alonso win the title the year prior with Renault; the Brit won eight drivers’ and six constructors’ championships in Milton Keynes.

His experience will be invaluable for Sauber, given their recent poor run of form. The Hinwil-based outfit have consistently been at the back of the grid over the last few years, scoring just four points in 2024.

Since Wheatley joined the team, ‘no one’ at Sauber is discussing scoring points. But after nine races in 2025, the Swiss outfit have had a ‘big transformation’.

Jonathan Wheatley has already poached Red Bull staff to make ‘amazing’ improvement with Sauber’s pit stops

After Nico Hulkenberg finished a stunning P5 at the Spanish Grand Prix, Sauber have now quadrupled their 2024 points tally. The German has scored all 16 of their points in 2025, having finished seventh at the season opener in Melbourne.

Gabriel Bortoleto has impressed in qualifying as the team look stronger after their upgrades in Barcelona. Sauber also produced the fastest pit stop of the Spanish GP, marking an ‘amazing’ improvement from last year, where poor equipment cost them dearly in that area.

Journalist Diego Mejia says this is down to Wheatley making several recruitments from Red Bull. Speaking via Pit Pass F1, he has noticed more staff coming from Milton Keynes to the Swiss outfit, which has dramatically helped the team inside the pit box.

“The most I like about this, and it’s not to do with Hulkenberg overtaking Hamilton for P5. It’s also that you see the pit stops,” he said.

“They had the fastest pit stop in the race. I used to spend a lot of time in front of the Red Bull garage for the past two years because of my work for Mexico and covering Checo.

“And the more you go to the Sauber pit, the more faces you see that were at Red Bull before. So there’s a big transformation there.

“I forgot his name, but there’s a mechanic that used to feature a lot in Drive to Survive from Red Bull. He was one of the first to come, he had a leading role and he helped the team a lot.

“When he first arrived at Sauber, he was the one trying to get all the methods and the techniques to be able to deliver good, solid pit stops and then turned them into the fastest pit stops at some races now.

“I think they are third in the year rankings for pit stops, which is amazing looking at where they were a year ago.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Sauber from team principal to 2026 Audi future

Can Audi be competitive in F1 in 2026?

Hulkenberg and Bortoleto are set to be Audi’s first drivers in F1 when they join the sport in 2026. There were some suggestions that the team would reassess their driver pool after watching the start of 2025.

But F1 Oversteer understands that Sauber have been impressed by Bortoleto and are not planning to change the line-up anytime soon. Audi have the right balance of experience and young potential to lead them into the 2026 F1 regulations.

Hulkenberg says Audi are going ‘full throttle’ with development in 2026. The team are solely focused on next season as they bring their own power unit to the sport.

Mattia Binotto admits Audi ‘won’t have the best’ power unit on the grid next season. The German giants have enjoyed success in every motorsport discipline they have competed in; with time, they have the tools to do the same in F1.