Jonathan Wheatley left Red Bull after 18 years to become the new team principal of Sauber and quickly made a big change at the Formula 1 outfit soon to become Audi.
Audi is making a lot of efforts to begin to turn the fortunes of the Hinwil, Switzerland natives around ahead of Sauber becoming the German automotive giant’s works F1 team in 2026. It particularly saw the team principal role as one position at Sauber that Audi could improve.
So, after hiring Mattia Binotto to become the new chief operating and chief technical officer of Sauber last July, Audi raided Red Bull to hire their sporting director Wheatley. He left Red Bull at the close of the 2024 F1 season to take charge of Sauber effective as of April 1, 2025.
‘No one’ at Sauber will discuss scoring points after Jonathan Wheatley became the team principal
Wheatley has appeared ‘reinvigorated’ at Sauber after spending 18 years at Red Bull. He was one of the first names that Red Bull signed for their outfit in February 2006 after Wheatley’s spell as a chief mechanic at Renault helped Fernando Alonso to lift the 2005 F1 drivers’ title.
READ MORE: Who is 2025 Audi/Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley? All to know
The 57-year-old is now using his experience of winning eight F1 drivers’ championship titles plus six constructors’ titles at Red Bull to remould Sauber, as well. But Blick reports that ‘no one’ at Sauber will now discuss their chances of scoring points since Wheatley took charge.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
188 |
| 2 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
111 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
89 |
| 4 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
78 |
| 5 |
Williams F1 Team |
25 |
| 6 |
Haas F1 Team |
20 |
| 7 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
10 |
| 8 |
Racing Bulls |
8 |
| 9 |
Alpine F1 Team |
6 |
| 10 |
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber |
6 |
No team has scored fewer points so far in the 2025 F1 season than Sauber, who rank last in the constructors’ standings with six to their name. Alpine have also scored six points during the first five rounds, but sit above Sauber thanks to recording a stronger second-best finish.
Nico Hulkenberg earned all six of Sauber’s points in his first race back at the Swiss crew with P7 in the Australian Grand Prix. Pierre Gasly matched his result to give Alpine six points with P7 in the Bahrain Grand Prix and came 11th in Melbourne yet Hulkenberg’s next-best is P15.
Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto will contest Sauber’s 599th Grand Prix in Miami
This week’s Miami Grand Prix will be the 599th entry for Sauber, but ‘no one’ at their factory is discussing Hulkenberg and rookie prospect Gabriel Bortoleto scoring points in Florida with Wheatley at the helm. Sauber are using a realistic view on their situation behind the scenes.
READ MORE: Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg’s life outside F1 from wife to height
Since Hulkenberg got all six of their points so far this season in Melbourne, the best position the 37-year-old has taken a chequered flag in was the P13 he managed in the Bahrain Grand Prix. But he was disqualified after the race in Sakhir for excessive wear to his rear skid block.
Outside of that, he has finished P15 in China and Saudi Arabia plus P16 in Japan and Sauber doubt they can repeat Hulkenberg’s P7 from Australia on merit anytime soon. Bortoleto has not finished a Grand Prix higher than his P14 in China over the 20-year-old’s first five races.
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