Hulkenberg 'surprised' by Binotto and Wheatley joining Audi

F1 News

Hulkenberg reacts to Binotto and Wheatley coming to Audi
22 August at 11:17
  • Jeroen Immink

A lot has been happening around the Audi project in Formula 1 in recent months. The German manufacturer recently announced that Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffman have left. It was then confirmed that Mattia Binotto and Jonathan Wheatley join the project. Nico Hulkenberg - who has been confirmed as a driver at Audi - reacted with surprise to the scenes at Audi.

Hulkenberg surprised by many changes at Audi

Hulkenberg recently revealed he was "shocked" by Seidl's departure at Audi. At Zandvoort, he was again asked about developments at Audi and then he responded as follows: "The surprise was the whole change of strategy there. Obviously, Seidl and Hoffman were leaving and that obviously was unexpected and big news.."

Audi personally informed Hulkenberg that Seidl and Hoffman had to give way to the arrival of Binotto and Wheatley and were leaving Audi. "I was informed by Gernot Döllner. He called me and reported," Hulkenberg added.

What does Hulkenberg think of Binotto and Wheatley

Binotto will be given a managerial position at Audi regarding the Formula 1 project and Wheatley - currently still turning out for Red Bull as sporting director - will be appointed team principal. The Hulk is looking forward to working with both individuals. "I think he's a very capable guy. Very qualified. He comes from Red Bull with obviously a lot of know-how from the team that's been so dominant for the last, I don't know how many years. So, I think he will be a strong addition to the team, for the project,," Hulkenberg said.

Binotto was successful as a motorista at Ferrari and then became team principal. After the 2022 season, he had to leave the Scuderia and now returns as COO and CTO at Audi. Hulkenberg says he has already been in touch with the Italian. "Yes, we had one phone call, It's very early days. Obviously, he's now arriving. He needs to obviously get a picture of the current situation, get an understanding of all the different departments. So, it's a process," Hulkenberg revealed.