Audi boss Jonathan Wheatley has left the German manufacturer with immediate effect amid interest from Aston Martin to become their new team principal.
Wheatley only joined Sauber, who have been taken over by Audi, 12 months ago after leaving Red Bull as sporting director at the end of 2024, but has been based in Audi's Swiss factory and Your Site News understands he has been keen to return to the UK.
Audi cited "personal reasons" as the cause for Wheatley's surprise departure with the team firmly in the midfield fight in the early part of the 2026 Formula 1 season, despite Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg both failing to start one race each due to car problems.
Should Wheatley join Aston Martin as team principal, it would allow Adrian Newey to focus on car development after a poor start to the season for Aston Martin.
Aston Martin co-owner , but also revealed the team are "regularly approached by senior executives of other teams who wish to join" Aston Martin.
Former Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto, will take over Wheatley's responsibilities as the new team principal ahead of next weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.
Binotto, who has primarily overseen Audi's engine programme in Germany, has been with Audi as Head of Audi F1 Project since 2024.
Audi are eighth in the Constructors' Championship after two races of the new season, with Bortoleto finishing ninth at the Australian Grand Prix.
That has been the high point of the season so far with unreliability also troubling Audi but they have shown glimpses of strong pace as both Bortoleto and Hulkenberg qualified in the top 11 in Melbourne, before a tricky Sprint weekend in Shanghai where Bortoleto did not start the Grand Prix.
Wheatley has been involved in F1 for over 30 years, starting his career at Benetton as a mechanic when Michael Schumacher won back-to-back drivers' titles in 1994 and 1995.
When the team became Renault in 2002, Wheatley was chief mechanic and worked with Fernando Alonso during his 2005 championship-winning year.
In 2006, he joined Red Bull as team manager and became sporting director in 2018, playing a key role in the outfit becoming well known for quick pit stops and bold strategy choices.
Wheatley is perhaps best known for his radio calls to race director Michael Masi throughout the controversial 2021 season, which Verstappen won on the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
During that year, teams were able to communicate with Masi and Wheatley was often heard lobbying for Red Bull and using the sporting regulations to the team's advantage.
Wheatley helped win six constructors' and eight drivers' titles at Red Bull, before he joined Sauber in April 2025, with the team being taken over by Audi for 2026.
Formula 1 next heads to the iconic Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix on March 27-29 live on Your Site F1.
