Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Mattia Binotto and Audi F1 Team head into the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka with a renewed focus on execution following the unexpected departure of Jonathan Wheatley.
The leadership shift comes after just two rounds of the season, with Wheatley stepping down from the team principal role less than a year into his tenure. He had formed a dual leadership structure alongside Binotto as part of Audi’s transition into a full works Formula 1 team after taking over Sauber operations for 2026, under the direction of Audi CEO Gernot Dollner.
Following Wheatley’s exit, Binotto has assumed full responsibility as team principal at a critical early stage of the campaign. Audi’s opening rounds have been compromised by reliability issues, with both cars failing to start races across the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix weekends.
In Melbourne, Nico Hulkenberg was unable to take the start, while in Shanghai, Gabriel Bortoleto was forced to sit out due to technical problems. Hulkenberg also retired from the Sprint, highlighting ongoing operational inconsistencies.
“As we head into the third round of the season in Suzuka, the focus is increasingly on clean execution,” Binotto stated in an official team release.
“We’ve seen encouraging signs in terms of pace over the first two races, but we understand there are areas where we can still improve, both in performance and execution.”
Binotto confirmed that the team has taken measures to address the reliability issues that disrupted its early-season performance. The priority is to ensure both cars can complete full race distances without technical interruptions, a key requirement for building consistency with a new car package.
“We’ve taken time to address the reliability issues we faced previously, looking to ensure they won’t happen again.”
“Our goal is to have both cars running their full races without disruption.”
Despite the challenges, Binotto emphasised that Audi remains in a learning phase as it develops its Formula 1 project. With teams across the grid gaining a better understanding of the new generation of cars, margins for error are tightening, increasing the importance of operational precision.
Audi now faces the task of converting its underlying pace into tangible results at Suzuka, while continuing to build a stable performance foundation in its debut season as a full Formula 1 constructor.
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