Jonathan Wheatley has emerged as a shock front-runner to become the next team principal at Aston Martin. The 58-year-old Brit is currently in that role at Audi and has been so for less than a year, having officially started work last April when the team was still competing under the Sauber name.

Wheatley, former sporting director at Red Bull, has said publicly on many occasions that he is loving the role and enjoying life in Switzerland, where he is now based close to Sauber Motorsport’s base in Hinwil, near Zurich. However, it is understood that personal reasons could lead to him making an unexpected return to the UK.

And that seems increasingly likely to lead to a new role with Aston Martin, who are actively looking for a new team principal. Adrian Newey is currently perfoming the role, but his strengths and true interests lie in car design and development and so it seems he is looking to shed the responsibilities that come with the TP title which would serve as a distraction from those ambitions.

Some Italian reports have even gone as far as to say Wheatley will be joining the Silverstone-based team, including Motorsport.com who report that Newey will step down to be replaced by his former Red Bull colleague. Even if he has agreed to do so, it will be some time before he will be able to officially start work in his new post given he will be made to observe a significant period of gardening leave by Audi. Express Sport has approached Aston Martin for comment.

Audi chiefs will likely be displeased about losing Wheatley so early into their new F1 project. The German carmaker acquired a partial stake in Sauber back in 2023 before completing a full takeover the following January, though the Audi name only appeared officially in F1 for the first time on the entry list for the current season which began earlier this month.

Wheatley is well-liked by colleagues while drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto have both publicly hailed the work done by their boss over the last 11 months. Should they need to replace him, Audi already have former Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto on the books as CEO and the Italian could be asked to take on additional responsibilities, at least in the interim.

At Aston Martin, Newey is said to have been leading the search for a new team principal – a third in less than 12 months after Andy Cowell’s tenure ended when he was moved into a chief strategy officer role which sees him act as a liaison with engine suppliers Honda – himself. It has been reported that Newey has recommended Wheatley to owner Lawrence Stroll, given they spent nearly 20 years working together at Red Bull.

Andreas Seidl is the other name which has been most strongly linked with the vacancy. Best known for a three-and-a-half-year stint as team principal at McLaren between 2019 and 2022, the German is currently not working in F1 after a brief stint as head of Audi’s F1 project in 2024.