“I want to be my own Team Principal. I want to lead the team, along with Mattia, in my own way. I’ve always been pretty sure of my own thoughts and my own views. I have a plan for how we can start this transformation journey and carry the momentum through. And I’ll keep referring to it but it’s about the people – the people in the team. That’s my focus.”
While Wheatley’s immediate priority will be on trying to get to grips with his new surroundings, much of the work in 2025 is with a view ahead to the transformation into Audi’s works outfit.
That in itself presents a challenge for the team’s new boss in marrying the different cultures of a three-pronged workforce – the Swiss-based team, the Audi engine base in Germany, plus a new UK-based technical centre that is due to open later this year – and he has insisted the squad will need to “get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”
TECH WEEKLY: Why Kick Sauber are performing much better than their pre-season testing form suggested
“What I’ve found is, at the moment, I’m not seeing any issues in terms of the language – the language of the team, the way people are getting on,” Wheatley explained.
“There’s an openness to learning. I’m going to try to learn German – but I don’t want anyone testing me on that in the short-term, please! It’s part of the challenge of the role and, as you know, we’re looking to expand our horizons a little bit.
“It’s a small team that’s in the transition phase to becoming a fully-fledged works Formula 1 team. There’s a myriad of projects that we need to get right. And one of those is meshing the people together.
“As a team, we need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, because change is coming. We have to be at the forefront of that and we need to have a clear road map as to where we’re headed – and I believe we’re on that road map at the moment.”
