Red Bull could lose another senior F1 official after Adrian Newey exit

Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley could be the next senior official to leave F1’s dominant team.

According to a report in The Times, Wheatley’s future is “increasingly uncertain” at Red Bull.

Wheatley has ambitions to become a team principal and has been enquiring at other teams.

The 56-year-old has been a key part of Red Bull’s success over the years.

Wheatley rose to prominence in 2021, often having conversations with race director Michael Masi to try and get a decision in Red Bull’s favour. 

He’s also the mastermind behind Red Bull’s world record pit stops, with the team consistently the best at them.

However, it seems Wheatley wants to become a team principal.

Alpine and Sauber could be possible destinations for him.

Bruno Famin is currently Alpine boss after taking over from Otmar Szafnauer on an interim basis.

Sauber currently don’t have a team principal with Alessandro Alunni Bravi their team representative. 

Red Bull have already lost design guru Adrian Newey, who will officially leave the team in the first quarter of 2025.

Star driver Max Verstappen has been heavily linked with a switch to Mercedes in the future.

Red Bull remain F1’s team on track, but off it, things are far from rosey.

Christian Horner was asked about the Wheatley speculation in Miami.

Horner said: "There are rumours about everybody. Contracts between individuals and their terms and conditions is not something that we really talk through [with] the public."

However, McLaren CEO Zak Brown suggested that Red Bull could lose a number of key personnel.

"I think the stuff that’s going on there, it’s a bit destabilising; probably [Newey is] the first domino to fall. My guess is it’s not the last based on the resumes that are flying around. We’ve seen an increase in CVs coming our way from the team,” Brown said.