How Audi boosted Sauber team spirit: 'We'd never have rebuilt Bortoleto's car last year'

Pitstops were regularly bungled, strategy was limp and car development had lost its way. Things looked hopeless, and morale was clearly low with its disgruntled drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.

The contrast in 2025 couldn’t be more different, the team now having its best campaign in 12 years and being still in the hunt for sixth in the championship battle.

CEO Mattia Binotto joined midway through 2024, and Wheatley came on board in April 2025, as the Swiss squad looked to get itself back on the right track as it morphed into Audi.

Such dire straits was it in, that any progress at all looked a daunting task. Somehow, it’s managed it, and is now a regular points contender.

Speaking at the livery launch for Audi’s R26 2026 F1 car, Wheatley said he saw the potential immediately when he came on board, despite its obvious flaws in other areas.

“I have to say, because you have preconceived ideas before you move to a team, I was hugely encouraged by what I found: which was a much younger team than I expected, with a more open mind than I expected, that already had started the journey towards becoming a competitive Formula 1 team, rather than [it being] an achievement being to get two cars to a race every Sunday,” he said.

“And I’m not taking anything away from what the team’s ambition was at the time, but we’re in a transformation process now.

“Audi’s investment in the team and belief in the team is extraordinary, and the team feels it every single day.

“We can feel the progress we’re making, and the team is starting to believe in itself now, and this is so important in terms of building momentum and moving forwards.

“We’re starting from a humble beginning, but our ambition is clear, and it’s shared with the team. And it’s a very exciting workplace at the moment.”

Sauber only just missed out on getting Bortoleto’s car ready for the Sao Paulo qualifying session, but the fact it came so close to making it was a real demonstration of how far the team has come, as Wheatley emphasised.

“If you want a manifestation of that, the team almost performed the incredible in Brazil, building a brand new car for Gabriel in an incredibly short period of time,” he said.

“This team would not have been able to do that a year ago. And that doesn’t come from tools or investment, that comes from spirit, that comes from team believing in itself and I’ve taken a huge amount of encouragement from that as well.”

Binotto and Wheatley were brought in to lead the Sauber to Audi transition after management felt that the project had lost its way, particularly in the development of the highly complex 2026 hybrid power unit, which will now feature an electrical element which produces 50% of the car’s 1000bhp.

Both men are acutely aware that this year’s promise doesn’t mean they won’t be in for a struggle next season – it’ll need all that team spirit and more.

“Mistakes will happen,” Binotto said in the run-up to the livery launch. “But learning from them is what drives transformation.”