How Jonathan Wheatley wants Sauber to use F1 podium momentum in Audi transformation
Wheatley officially joined Sauber in April after leaving Red Bull and has already overseen steady improvements during his short tenure as team principal.
Advertisement
At the Austrian Grand Prix, Gabriel Bortoleto finished eighth and scored his first points in F1, while a major payday came at the British GP where Nico Hulkenberg claimed his first podium in 239 F1 starts by finishing third – marking Sauber's first podium since 2012.
Wheatley says he is looking to build on that form as the team prepares for its transformation into an Audi-run operation next season.
When asked by Motorsport.com at the Goodwood Festival of Speed about the team's progress, he joked: 'I don't think I've achieved much, to be honest, except for a successful move to Switzerland!
'No, it's been wonderful working with the team. Obviously, Matteo [Binotto, Sauber's COO] put a huge amount of work in before I arrived, and so got the ball was rolling from that point.
Advertisement
'It's been great to just absorb myself in the team and try to understand how it works, to add a little bit of guidance here and there, and now, when I sat on the pitwall at Silverstone, it really feels like it's coming together.
Watch: Why Bortoleto Is Already Confident About Audi's 2026 F1 Potential
'My first race was Suzuka and the Japanese GP [in April]. I've done 10 races in 13 weeks or something like that. It's been it's been quite a period of time. I think from the moment we brought the first upgrade to the car, you could see the confidence in the drivers all of a sudden, they could push the car, they could string together consecutive qualifying laps, and it puts us in a position where we can maximise our advantage.
'There's a lot of work going on before I got here, and I don't want to stand here and take credit for things. It's a huge team at work here. They made the big steps in terms of equipment but also coaching confidence in the crew and things like pitstops, which are a manifestation of team spirit. When you see a team relaxed delivering good pitstops, that's a happy team.'
Advertisement
As F1 teams prepare for the biggest regulation change in its history with new chassis and engine rules, Wheatley knows that despite having Audi's backing the team faces a serious challenge in overhauling the traditional frontrunners.
However, he says that challenge was what lured him away from Red Bull to join the Audi project, which he believes is one of the most exciting developments in F1.
'It was a year ago, almost to the day, where I had my job interview. I drove from here at Goodwood to Southampton Airport where I met with Audi and we discussed the project. I've been on the hook ever since,' he said.
'I grew up watching Audi Quattros smashing through the forest with flames coming out of the exhaust! Audi always did it differently and it's fantastic to be part of that journey. It is probably the biggest thing in our sport at the moment. The greatest good news story in sport. It's fantastic for F1 and everyone should be excited about it.
Advertisement
Oliver Hoffmann, Head of Technical Development at Audi Sport GmbH, with Markus Duesmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG, with the new Audi Sport concept car
Oliver Hoffmann, Head of Technical Development at Audi Sport GmbH, with Markus Duesmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG, with the new Audi Sport concept car
'We have to be humble about the challenge that we face. It's going to be tough to get to the same level as the established teams, and to smash through that level requires a level of momentum.
'But I firmly believe we're going to be there. We're on the road already. We've put ourselves in a position where we were able to capitalise on some wet-weather situations.
'Very soon I'm going to have four rings on a shirt, and I'm going to be the happiest team principal in F1.'
Read Also:
Sauber opens new technology centre ahead of Audi F1 takeover
To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Why Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon title takes his Carlos Alcaraz rivalry somewhere new
THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB, LONDON — Like Rafael Nadal beating Roger Federer to win Wimbledon in 2008, this felt like a hinge point in men's tennis. Back then, Nadal's win ended a sequence in which he would win in Paris and Federer would triumph in south-west London a month later that went on for four seasons. Advertisement Sunday, Jannik Sinner won the Wimbledon title to end a similar exchange between him and Carlos Alcaraz, on hard courts and natural surfaces. Like Nadal's 17 years ago, this was the first 'away' win in the sequence between the two great rivals. And like Nadal, who had come so close at Wimbledon a year earlier, Sinner did it having suffered an agonizing defeat to Alcaraz even more recently. Only five weeks ago, Sinner lost the French Open final to Alcaraz despite having three championship points and serving for the match. No male player has ever squandered more championship points in a Grand Slam final defeat. Sinner's victory also ended a run of five consecutive defeats against Alcaraz. His winning on Alcaraz's patch means he holds three out of the four majors, despite having a 5-8 head-to-head record against his rival; the Spaniard still has more majors — five to his Sinner's four — but if the Italian defends his U.S. Open title in September, he will level the score, and he will have won five of the past eight majors. Given Paris, and given the recent Alcaraz record, Sinner's coach Darren Cahill said in a post-match news conference that 'he needed that win today.' Sinner's rapid rebound is fitting for a player who is fast becoming the ultimate compartmentalizer in tennis. Sinner, who twice tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid last March, went to last year's U.S. Open days after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced the two anti-doping violations. In the same announcement, the ITIA said that an independent panel had found that Sinner bore 'no fault or negligence' for the tests. Sinner, who was provisionally suspended for both violations, appealed those suspensions and was successful, meaning that per ITIA rules, they were lifted quickly and did not become public, allowing him to continue to play. Advertisement At Sinner's pre-U.S. Open news conference, the moderator tried to shut down questions about it, but Sinner answered them all. Then he won the U.S. Open title, his second Grand Slam. He arrived at the next major, January's Australian Open, unsure of what the rest of his year would look like. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had announced that it would appeal the 'no fault or negligence' ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). WADA, which sits above the ITIA as the worldwide authority in sports doping, was seeking 'a period of ineligibility of between one and two years,' in which Sinner would be banned from playing tennis. Both it and the ITIA accepted, however, that Sinner did not intentionally dope. This was the backdrop for Sinner winning his third Grand Slam, defeating Alexander Zverev in the final, and the post-match news conference was punctuated with questions about his doping case. A few weeks later, Sinner and WADA entered into a case resolution agreement, in which he received a three-month ban. The ban ran February 9 to May 4, meaning that he did not miss a Grand Slam before returning to competitive tennis at his home event: the Italian Open, in Rome. That ban, as well as the original ruling of 'no fault or negligence,' drew widespread criticism in the tennis world, with former players and commentators, as well as some of Sinner's active peers on the ATP Tour. They alleged double standards and accused the bodies of favorable treatment, despite the case and its resolutions being handled in accordance with anti-doping rules. It caused furor across the sport, but Sinner has responded to it by playing, winning, and then playing and winning some more. In a recent interview with The Athletic, Sinner's former coach, Riccardo Piatti, said that when Sinner was a junior skier, he would enter a different plane of concentration after putting on his helmet. The same thing would happen, Piatti said, when Sinner put on his cap to play tennis. Advertisement 'I feel like when I play the match, I can switch off and just play. I believe that this helped me a lot,' Sinner said in his news conference Sunday. 'I wouldn't have coped,' Cahill said of the past five weeks. 'I think for most normal athletes that get into that position and have 0-40, 5-3 in the fourth set, match points to win Roland Garros, and certainly his year has been… I don't know the right word to sum it up, but it's been challenging for everybody involved. 'He has a mentality on the tennis court that is special, and that's why he and Carlos are doing what they're doing.' Cahill put Sinner's ability to stay level-headed down to his parents and upbringing. His dad missed the French Open final because he had a shift at the restaurant he works at, which helped his son put things in perspective. After some sleepless nights in the immediate aftermath, Sinner said Friday that he got over Paris by having a barbecue and playing table tennis with his friends. An hour or so earlier, Alcaraz had said that he absolutely did not expect any letdown from Sinner in Sunday's final as a result of what had happened at Roland-Garros. His tone was as if to say: 'Um, have you seen this guy?' 'He didn't surprise me at all because I know he's a really nice player and a huge champion. Champions learn from the losses. 'I knew at the beginning that he was going to learn from that final, not going to make the same mistakes as they did in the French Open final,' Alcaraz said after Sunday's final. Sinner's run to the title could have been so very different. In the fourth round, he trailed an inspired Grigor Dimitrov by two sets, having taken a nasty fall in the first game when he had hurt his elbow. He then benefited from a huge slice of luck, when Dimitrov had to retire because of a pectoral injury with the score level at 2-2 in the third set. Advertisement Cahill and his fellow coach, Simone Vagnozzi, emphasized to Sinner that he had caught a break, but that it was time to forget about it as soon as lightning had struck. Sinner duly did, easing past Ben Shelton and a compromised version of seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in his next two matches to reach the final, where he had to use the French Open defeat as fuel, rather than letting it become an albatross. 'We talked a little bit about his game (after Paris), maybe being a little bit braver in the bigger moments,' Cahill said. Like Nadal's victory in 2008, this win will take Sinner's rivalry with Alcaraz to a new place, but it is unlikely to meaningfully change its import for the rest of the tour. Sinner's win, and Alcaraz's defending 1,300 of the 2,000 ranking points he had on the line as defending champion, entrenches them as No. 1 and No. 2 in both the world rankings and the 'Race to Turin,' which counts points earned this season. Barring an extraordinary injury or a surge from one of their peers, they are going to be seeded on opposite sides of Grand Slam draws for a very long time. More importantly for Sinner, Sunday's win proves what the Italian has been telling the world with his tennis for the better part of a year: there's no disappointment or distraction too big to knock Sinner off his stride. For a tennis player competing at the top of a sport where tough losses are baked in, that's possibly the greatest superpower of all.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Prince George, Princess Charlotte join Prince William and Princess Kate at Wimbledon
Prince George and Princess Charlotte made a surprise appearance at Wimbledon alongside their parents, Prince William and Princess Kate, to watch the final match of the tournament. In a photo shared by Wimbledon's official X account, the royal family is seen smiling as they walk together. Princess Charlotte appears to wave to the crowd while William looks on proudly, and Kate leads the way at the front of the group. Kate Middleton dons tiara, gown by wedding dress designer for state banquet For the occasion, Kate and Charlotte wore light summer dresses, while William and George sported matching suits and ties. Their Royal Highnesses The Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince George and Princess Charlotte arrive ahead of the Gentlemen's Singles final 🍓#Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2025 Following the match, Kate, who is a patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, stepped onto the court to present the championship trophy to Jannik Sinner, who won his first Wimbledon title after defeating Carlos Alcaraz in four sets. The victory also marked Sinner's fourth Grand Slam title. The royal family's Sunday outing came a day after Princess Kate made her first appearance at Wimbledon this season, continuing a longstanding royal tradition tied to the iconic tournament. After Saturday's women's final, Kate also presented the championship trophy to Iga Świątek, who delivered a dominant 6-0, 6-0 win over Amanda Anisimova. The weekend appearance came shortly after Kate opened up about the challenges of recovering from cancer treatment. During a visit to Colchester Hospital in Essex earlier this month, she shared that the post-treatment period has been unexpectedly tough. "You put on a brave face through treatment," she said at the time. "But actually, the phase afterwards is really difficult. You have to find your new normal and that takes time." Kate has been a fixture at Wimbledon for over a decade, attending nearly every year since marrying Prince William in 2011 -- except in 2013, when she was advised not to travel late in pregnancy, and in 2020, when the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Sky Sports: West Ham United ‘Agree £19m Deal' to Sign Defender
West Ham Secure Diouf Signing from Slavia Prague West Ham United have taken a significant step in bolstering their squad by agreeing a deal to sign El Hadji Malick Diouf from Slavia Prague, as reported by Sky Sports News' Dharmesh Sheth. The Hammers will pay an initial £19 million fee with additional performance-based add-ons. Diouf has been granted permission to undergo a medical, with the formalities expected to be wrapped up soon. Advertisement Diouf's Rise: From Tromsø to Prague and Now the Premier League Diouf's journey has been impressive. Starting at Norwegian side Tromsø, he made the switch to Slavia Prague in January 2024. In just one season, he made 41 appearances, scoring seven goals and assisting three. These numbers are remarkable for a left-back, underlining his attacking intent and work rate. Photo IMAGO Internationally, Diouf has already made his mark, earning six caps for Senegal. He was part of the squad that famously beat England 3-1 in June, a performance that certainly put him on the radar of European clubs. West Ham's recruitment team have moved quickly, seeing an opportunity to fill a gap left by Aaron Cresswell's departure at the end of his contract. Advertisement Graham Potter's Vision and Squad Building Under Graham Potter, West Ham have been keen to strengthen the flanks, and Diouf fits that profile perfectly. Known for his progressive football, Potter will no doubt look to utilise Diouf's pace, technical ability and eye for goal. Speaking to Sky Sports, Dharmesh Sheth highlighted, 'West Ham have been in the market for a left-back after Aaron Cresswell left at the end of his contract.' Diouf's arrival seems to be a statement of intent, showing that the club are not content with standing still. What Diouf Brings to the Premier League Diouf's attacking numbers set him apart. Seven goals and three assists from left-back speak volumes about his forward-thinking approach. But it's not just about stats. His physicality, composure on the ball and ability to read the game make him an ideal fit for English football. Advertisement Potter will likely ask him to contribute in build-up play, overlap in wide areas and deliver quality into the box, while maintaining defensive discipline. With Premier League wingers becoming increasingly dynamic, having a full-back who can cope physically and technically is vital. Looking Ahead: West Ham's Summer Ambitions This signing could be just the start. West Ham are expected to continue their summer business, with further reinforcements likely in midfield and attack. The ambition is clear: push for European qualification and build a squad capable of competing on multiple fronts. As Dharmesh Sheth noted, 'The Premier League club are set to pay an initial £19m fee plus performance-related add-ons.' This level of investment suggests that West Ham are serious about progressing under Potter. Advertisement Our View – EPL Index Analysis From a West Ham supporter's perspective, this is the type of signing that gets you genuinely excited. El Hadji Malick Diouf is not just another promising young full-back, he's a player who has been performing consistently in Europe and at international level. The fact that he has played in high-pressure matches, including Senegal's 3-1 victory over England, shows he can handle the big stage. Graham Potter is building something special at the London Stadium, and Diouf feels like a key piece in that puzzle. We've needed fresh energy at left-back since Cresswell moved on, and Diouf looks ready to make that position his own. Fans are already imagining him linking up with Jarrod Bowen on the left, bombing forward, beating defenders and whipping crosses in. Advertisement This isn't just a signing for depth, it's one for immediate impact. West Ham supporters are dreaming of a strong Premier League campaign, and with Potter's tactical nous and Diouf's flair, we could be in for a memorable season. Let's hope the board keeps backing the manager, because if this deal is anything to go by, the future is claret and blue.
