Red Bull F1 News: Champions outgunned by rival team in MAJOR coup

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F1 Off The Track

Red Bull outgunned by rival F1 team in MAJOR coup

Jonathan Wheatley will leave Red Bull to be Audi's team principal

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Wednesday 28 August 2024 17:57 Updated: 19:02

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A senior Red Bull figure has admitted that the team were financially outgunned by one of their Formula 1 rivals recently when they announced the signing of their new team principal.

Just days into F1's summer break earlier this month, Red Bull lost yet another key figure from their championship-winning roster.

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Technical and design guru Adrian Newey announced his exit earlier this year, and in early August, it was revealed that Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley would be joining Audi's F1 project as their team principal.

Wheatley has been at Red Bull since 2006, but will now depart for pastures new at the end of the season.

Jonathan Wheatley is set to leave Red Bull for Audi F1

Adrian Newey is another senior figure to announce his Red Bull exit in 2024

Marko explains Audi Red Bull coup

Given Wheatley's status within the team and the respect he commands in the F1 paddock, Audi's swoop to secure him as their team chief has been lauded by many.

That, however, raises the question as to why Red Bull would not try to prevent him from departing.

Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has offered an explanation for this, however, revealing that the team were financially outgunned by Audi when it came to the signing.

"You have to understand, he’s in his mid-50s and has received an incredibly attractive offer from Audi that we couldn’t match either in terms of position or financial possibilities," Marko explained to Sky Germany.

Helmut Marko explains Jonathan Wheatley's Red Bull exit

"One must understand that someone would seize such an opportunity.

"Of course, it’s always a shame when someone has been with us for so long and has been so involved in building the team. But again, we are well-positioned and will distribute these tasks among several people.

"It’s clear that losing him is a setback, but we believe we can make up for it."