Overview
- Audi said Jonathan Wheatley has left the team with immediate effect for personal reasons and that Mattia Binotto will assume team‑principal responsibilities while a longer‑term structure is defined.
- Multiple outlets report Wheatley is expected to join Aston Martin to take over day‑to‑day leadership so Adrian Newey can concentrate on technical matters, but Aston Martin says Newey continues to lead and has not announced any hire.
- Aston Martin executive chairman Lawrence Stroll reaffirmed Newey’s status as managing technical partner and shareholder and noted the team does not currently follow a traditional team‑principal model, without addressing Wheatley directly.
- Industry reporting indicates Audi could enforce a lengthy gardening‑leave period, leaving the timing of any Wheatley start at Aston Martin uncertain ahead of next week’s Japanese Grand Prix.
- Aston Martin’s urgent search for clearer trackside leadership follows a dire start to 2026 marked by severe Honda power‑unit vibrations, battery reliability problems and two race DNFs that drivers said caused hand and foot numbness.