Wheatley-led Sauber pit stops are now ranked among the top in F1.

      Sauber has discreetly enhanced its pitstop performance in 2025, improving significantly from last year's difficulties to become one of the quickest teams in Formula 1. Earlier this season, the Swiss team even secured third place in the official fastest pitstop rankings, trailing only Ferrari and McLaren. A rare setback at Silverstone, where a jammed left front tire delayed Nico Hulkenberg by 4.6 seconds, did not prevent him from achieving his first Formula 1 podium finish. "It must have been somewhat nerve-wracking," remarked team boss Jonathan Wheatley. "They’ve been consistent all year."

      Indeed, this marks a significant improvement from 2024, when a redesign of wheel hubs over the winter resulted in frequent failures and a delayed fix. "Now we have stable equipment," said sporting director Inaki Rueda in an interview with Auto Motor und Sport. "This was the area where we encountered issues at the beginning of last season, but it improved as the year progressed.

      "This enabled us to create an effective plan for pitstop training over the winter. The team put in a lot of effort during that time." So much so that Sauber achieved the fastest overall pitstops in both Miami and Barcelona. "The duration of our pitstops is continually decreasing," Rueda acknowledged. "However, our primary aim isn’t merely to achieve the fastest stops; it’s about maintaining consistency and steering clear of slow pitstops.

      "If we can accomplish that, the quicker pitstops will follow naturally." Rueda also acknowledged Wheatley—who previously served as the long-time sporting director for Red Bull, known for their record-setting pit crew—for subtly enhancing processes in Hinwil. "The trend for pitstops was already moving in the positive direction before Jonathan joined us," Rueda mentioned. "But certainly, his expertise aids us in further refining our processes.

      "It’s not something that can be implemented overnight. Jonathan is also aware that solutions for Team A don’t automatically apply to Team B. Therefore, we need to determine how we can adapt and leverage his experience for our own team."