Red Bull carry on without Wheatley: 'He is ready for next step'
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- Corwin Kunst
Red Bull Racing will have to do without Jonathan Wheatley from next season. The team manager will start work as team principal at Audi and so the team of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez will lose much-needed experience. The Mexican believes Red Bull can make up for the 57-year-old Briton's loss.
Perez thinks Audi have made an impressive gain by attracting the Red Bull chief. "He's obviously someone very experienced with the team, who has been really close to Christian [Horner], who, in my opinion, is the best team boss in Formula 1. I think he has the right mindset. He loves F1, it’s his life. So I think he is definitely ready for the next step in his career."
Red Bull through life without Wheatley
For Red Bull, Wheatley's departure is "definitely" a loss. "He's been there for such a long time. He has structured a lot of the team, and as always, when you lose someone, you have to be prepared. I believe that the future is in good hands. I think Red Bull has that luxury of having great people, quite young people as well. The team is in a great position."
Wheatley is not the first major player to close the Red Bull door after years of service. Dan Fallows (Aston Martin), Rob Marshall (McLaren), Lee Stevenson (Audi) and Adrian Newey (unknown) preceded him in recent times.
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