Jonathan Wheatley didn’t reach for platitudes. Asked in Budapest about the end of Christian Horner’s reign at Red Bull, the Sauber team boss — and Horner’s long-time sporting director — called it what it was: extraordinary.
“It was a tremendous 19-year period,” Wheatley told Sky F1. “Look at what Christian achieved in his leadership there. It’s extraordinary. Nobody can take anything away from that. What we achieved as a team was extraordinary.”
That chapter officially closed after the British Grand Prix, when Red Bull dismissed Horner and moved swiftly to install Laurent Mekies as Red Bull Racing CEO and team principal. The shuffle rippled down the road in Faenza too, with Alan Permane stepping up from Racing Bulls’ racing director to the team principal role.
Wheatley exited Milton Keynes late in that turbulent stretch, taking the wheel at Sauber in April as the Hinwil outfit readies itself to become Audi’s works team in 2026. He’s not sentimental about processes — you can’t lift-and-shift a Milton Keynes playbook into a Swiss factory — but he is adamant that culture travels.
“You have to immerse yourself in the team,” he said. “You very rarely just move a complete procedure across from one team to another. It doesn’t work like that. But you can bring a philosophy. A cultural philosophy.”
Sauber’s response has been sharp. A team stuck near the back early doors has become a regular points presence, and Nico Hülkenberg finally climbed onto an F1 podium at Silverstone — a landmark the paddock’s been waiting on for years. The bounce has them up to seventh in the Constructors’ standings, not a bad starting point for a group Wheatley describes as “very young,” with many arrivals only since January.
“We’re knitting together as a team,” he added. “We’re at the early part of that journey, starting from humble beginnings. We’re making steps. We’re gaining momentum. And this business is all about momentum.”
As for Max Verstappen, the four-time World Champion’s decision to shut down Mercedes talk and recommit to Red Bull for 2026 drew a nod from his former colleague. “Max’s journey, I’ve loved watching every single second of it,” Wheatley said. “I’m glad for him that he feels comfortable and engaged moving forwards.”
Through all the upheaval, there’s a through line: the people. Wheatley sounded genuinely pleased that two familiar faces — Permane, a friend of more than three decades, and Mekies — have landed top jobs. Red Bull’s title-laden era was built by a tight core; now, that expertise is fanning out across the grid.
Audi will like the sound of that. So will anyone betting on Sauber’s upward curve continuing into 2026.
