Audi group principal Jonathan Wheatley has left the group with speedy impact.
The event comes a day after news broke that the 58-year-old Englishman had been approached by Aston Martin to be their team principal.
An announcement from Audi mentioned Wheatley was leaving for “private causes”.
Mattia Binotto will take over the duties of group principal along with his function as head of the Audi F1 undertaking whereas the corporate takes its time to think about its subsequent steps.
The transfer comes after an Audi board assembly on Friday with Wheatley and Binotto in attendance.
Wheatley had been beneath contract with Audi for at the least the rest of this yr however a call was made that he ought to depart instantly. It’s the third management restructure in less than two years at Audi.
He should serve a interval of ‘gardening depart’ earlier than becoming a member of one other group, the size of which should be negotiated between himself, Audi and probably a future employer.
Key amongst Wheatley’s causes for leaving had been a need to return to the UK by the top of this yr.
Audi will not be anticipated to search for a direct substitute for Wheatley, and usually tend to appoint somebody to a job that’s in control of working the race group whereas Binotto retains total management.
Aston Martin haven’t confirmed their curiosity in Wheatley however proprietor Lawrence Stroll has made him a suggestion to run the group beneath managing technical accomplice Adrian Newey.
Newey, who joined Aston Martin in March final yr, has been appearing as group principal because the place’s former occupant Andy Cowell was moved into a special place.
Cowell is now specializing in serving to engine accomplice Honda resolve its issues with its new engine, which has began the 2026 season missing efficiency and reliability.
In an announcement on Friday, Stroll re-emphasised his dedication to and relationship with Newey, who’s considered the best F1 designer in historical past.
Stroll mentioned: “I wish to reaffirm that Adrian Newey is my accomplice and an vital shareholder. He’s AMR’s managing technical accomplice, and he and I’ve a real partnership constructed on a shared imaginative and prescient of success for the corporate.
“We do issues in another way right here, and whereas we do not presently undertake the standard group principal function that you just see elsewhere – it’s by design.
“As probably the most profitable engineer within the historical past of the game, Adrian’s major focus is on the strategic and technical management the place he excels. He’s supported by a extremely expert senior management group to ship on all points of the enterprise, each on the campus and trackside.”
Stroll met with former Crimson Bull group principal Christian Horner once more this week, however Newey is alleged by sources to be opposed his former colleague becoming a member of Aston Martin.
Newey left Crimson Bull in April 2024 as a result of his relationship with Horner had soured after almost 20 years collectively.
If Stroll and Wheatley finalise their settlement, the brand new association would release Newey to give attention to the important thing areas the place he could make a distinction with out the distractions of different duties.
Aston Martin are final within the championship after two races this season, with a automotive that’s behind on improvement in comparison with its rivals and an engine that’s beset by main vibration issues and is brief on inside combustion energy and vitality restoration and deployment.
