Whitley: There are advantages to being a team leader.

      Jonathan Wheatley, after almost two decades of collaboration with Red Bull Racing, joined the Audi factory project and headed the Sauber team, which is still called in the old way. This is a very serious change in the career and life of the 57-year-old Briton, because he had to move to Switzerland.

      Taking part in the podcast Beyond The Grid on the official website of the championship, Wheatley explained why he decided to take such a step. But first of all, it is worth recalling that he has been working in Formula 1 for more than thirty years: in the 90s, Jonathan started as a mechanic for the Benetton team, then in the 2000s he became the chief mechanic when the Renault F1 factory was created on the basis of this team, and since 2006 he worked at Red Bull and reached the level of the sports director.

      Jonathan Wheatley: "My wife and I moved to Switzerland more than a month ago, it's a beautiful country, and we love it here. I was warmly welcomed by the team, and everyone here is delighted with the prospects, because Sauber has been a relatively small team for so long, but now it is turning into an Audi factory project.

      Of course, the differences from Red Bull Racing are very great – I remember my impressions from 2006, when I switched from Renault F1 to Red Bull. There is a big difference in the infrastructure, but the team has very big and ambitious plans to expand it.

      I must say that the main difficulty now is that there are more and more employees, so there is less and less space at the base in Hinville, and many people have to squeeze into small rooms. But plans to expand the base have already been drawn up, and, for example, I am moving to another office, which is located in another building.

      When construction begins, it will be another sign of future changes for everyone and will have a positive impact on the overall fighting spirit.… I draw energy from the team when it is literally bubbling, when creative ideas are born in it, and my job as a team leader is to help people realize their dreams, to guide them on this long and difficult path.

      We are currently going through a transition period when a small team is being transformed into a large one, and a special strategy is needed here, because in the next three to five years the team will inevitably face various difficulties that it is not yet ready for. My task is also to prepare her for this.

      Of course, we want to speed up this process as much as possible, and here we are working together with Mattia Binotto, with whom we share a common vision. We've known each other for a long time, since 2006, when Red Bull cars had Ferrari engines, and we already got along great then.

      Now he has a very important role in our project, he is generally responsible for the integration of the chassis and power plant, i.e. for the creation of the future Audi racing car for Formula 1. I am responsible for the organization of all processes on the basis of the team, I am responsible for the work of the racing team, and I also communicate with the commercial partners of the team.…

      I must say that I had the opportunity to continue my career in the UK, I received various offers, but none of them can even compare with the project of creating an Audi factory team in Formula 1. I'm thrilled that I'm doing just that right now, and there are advantages to being a team leader!

      For example, on the very first day in Hinville, I got the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a car that I had dreamed of since my youth – I rode the legendary Audi Quattro rally car! (such cars were used by the Audi factory team in the World Rally Championship in the first half of the 80s)

      It's funny that when I called Audi's racing division and asked if this was possible, they said, "Well, of course! What color do you prefer? There are cars in black, green, brown, red and white colors... "And I chose white!.."