A Red Bull is confident that it will retain its key personnel Formula 1 amid reports that sporting director Jonathan Wheatley may follow the same path as Adrian Newey.
Earlier this week, it was announced that Newey would step back from his F1 activities before becoming available to rival teams from March 2025. Newey’s departure is seen by some competitors as a sign that the team’s dominant empire Milton Keynes could be about to fall apart amid internal power struggles.
This Sunday, the newspaper Teams reported that long-time sporting director Wheatley could be the next key figure to leave the squad. The director is said to have ambitions of becoming team principal in F1, and sources with knowledge of the situation indicate he is already in preliminary talks with other teams.
Red Bull Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley and the pit stop team receive the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award 2023
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
O Motorsport.com understands that Red Bull are relaxed about the situation with Wheatley’s contract up for renewal as he assesses his position in the market before committing to a new deal.
The team insists the situation is no different to how drivers would also explore any options elsewhere before deciding on their future.
Wheatley is understood to be one of several key figures at Red Bull who have piqued the interest of rival teams in recent months, as F1’s dominant force is working to renew the contracts of the technical team who have helped it reach its current form. Of success.
It is known that Ferrari made frequent approaches to the technical director Pierre Wache, responsible for his recent F1 car projects. But the Frenchman signed a new contract with Red Bull.
The Milton Keynes team also moved to secure the future of head of aerodynamics Enrico Balbo and head of performance engineering Ben Waterhouse amid a broader contract renewal cycle, while the Motorsport.com understands that the chief engineer Paul Monaghan is in similar talks after attracting interest elsewhere.
Wheatley joined Red Bull when it was in its infancy in 2006 and became a key pillar of the team as its sporting director, helping the team win seven drivers’ and six constructors’ world titles with Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen.
