Red Bull F1 drawback allowed rival team to POACH key figure

Christian Horner thoughtfully ponders while wearing a headset — Photo: © IMAGO

Red Bull

Red Bull drawback allowed rival F1 team to POACH key figure

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

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson

Thursday 29 August 2024 20:00

A Red Bull chief has revealed the drawback that allowed a rival F1 team to poach one of their key figures.

After a difficult year for Red Bull, the team lost another significant member of their team during the summer break.

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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

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, explaining 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 has explained 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."

Red Bull F1 Adrian Newey Audi Kelly Piquet Jonathan Wheatley