From Sauber to Audi, Wheatley prepares to disrupt in F1 revolution

Not many Formula One teams with cars finishing 17th and 20th in a grand prix will be talking about race wins and championships within five years, but the Sauber garage is no ordinary place this season.

The Swiss-based outfit, in Formula One since 1993 and with one grand prix triumph and 28 podiums, will become the Audi works team next year.

Their ambitions are evident in the calibre of the people recruited to lead it, former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto and Red Bull's former Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley.

Wheatley was only released to join as team principal in April, but in the midst of his 15th race weekend on the Sauber pit wall, the 58-year-old Briton was content with how everything was going.

"I think we're on track," he told Reuters at the Singapore Grand Prix last weekend.

"Fortunately for me, Mattia has been here for a lot longer ... so things are already in place and starting to move forwards.

"Look, it's an ambitious roadmap we have ahead of us. Our intention is to be competing for race wins and championships at the end of the decade, and we've got an aggressive path to get us there."

Wheatley thinks next year's regulation changes, which take in both engine and chassis, will be the biggest revolution in Formula One at least since he started as a junior mechanic with Benetton in 1991.

That, he believes, opens up an opportunity for Audi.

"It's a hugely exciting set of technical regulations, a very, very challenging set ... and when you do that, there's a chance you can break up the order," he said.

"The three pillars of Audi's involvement are highly efficient engines, fully sustainable fuels and advanced hybrid technology, and that's what's being introduced next year.

"We're quite excited about what's happening next year, to bring together chassis and powertrain for the first time, fire up an Audi Formula One car for the very first time."

For all his excitement, Wheatley does not underestimate the challenge of transforming a team whose ambition for much of the last decade was just getting two cars on the grid for every race.

Famously responsible for developing the Red Bull crew which set new standards for pit stops, Wheatley said he had not charged into Sauber shooting from the hip.

"I was keeping my eyes and ears open and using my mouth in proportion to those two early on," he recalled.

"If you bring too many new ideas, too many new philosophies, try to change too much, it's a delicate balance racing ...

"A race team's like a family. There are times when you sort of rub up against each other, there are times when everything goes smoothly. I guess my experience tells me when the right time is to do something."

'PROPER FIST FIGHT'

A podium for Nico Hulkenberg at the British Grand Prix – the German's first in 239 Formula One starts – was an indication that the project was moving in the right direction.

With such sweeping changes coming in for next year, there is clearly limited utility in doing much more on the technical side than managing the cars.

Wheatley is expecting progress on the operational side over the final six races of the season, however.

"We're in a proper fist fight every weekend... therefore you can't drop the ball," he said.

"What I'm looking for is continuous improvement. I'm looking for us to be constantly looking at how can we improve it? How do we consistently make the right decisions in high-pressure situations?"

The ability to think outside the box is going to be vital to take on teams that have been at the front of the grid for years, Wheatley said.

"The teams we're competing against have strength and depth in every area. We're challenging Ferrari, we're challenging Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes," he said.

"We're disruptors. We have to be, we're not going to get to where we want to be by just playing a normal game. We have to do things differently.

"We're sat here in garage 10, and we're aiming to be in garage one, and it's a long walk."