Earlier this week, the name ‘Red Bull’ was once again making headlines. Following the reigning World Champ, Max Verstappen’s investigation last year, the Red Bull camp appears to be under fire once again. But this time it is Red Bull’s Team Principal and CEO, Christian Horner, who has caught the spotlight over ‘serious allegations’ of ‘inappropriate behavior’.
Red Bull is now expected to axe the 50-year-old Horner after carefully investigating the allegations made against him. The subject of ‘who will eventually replace Horner’ has been a heated topic, and a lot of names are coming out as ‘potential’ replacements. One man who seems to tick most of the boxes and now looks to be the favorite candidate is Jonathan Wheatly.
Who is Jonathan Wheatley?
Jonathan Wheatley, the current Red Bull Sporting Director, is a motorsports veteran with almost three decades of Formula One experience in his work portfolio. His F1 career began in the early 1990s at Benetton as a mechanic. He got his breakthrough at Benetton in 2001, when he was appointed as the chief mechanic of the race team.
This British mechanic was one of Red Bull’s earliest recruits, joining the team from Renault in 2006. He’s been on RB’s ‘record-breaking’ pit-stop team ever since and has been highly impactful behind the team’s development and success.
Wheatley has been one of the main driving forces behind Red Bull’s five constructor’s and six driver’s championships. He’s been described as the ‘man behind the record-breaking pit-stop team’. Under his supervision, the pit crews set a world record with a lightning-fast 1.82s stop for Max Verstappen at 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix
One of Wheatley’s most memorable moments at Red Bull was his radio conversation with Michael Massi during the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP.
With all these contributions and success with RB, it’s no surprise that Wheatley is one of the possible ‘shortlisted’ candidates to replace Horner.
Wheatley favorite to replace Christian Horner
Christain Horner, who’s led Red Bull for the past 20 years, is currently under investigation over his ‘inappropriate behavior’ allegations, with an official hearing set for this Friday (February 9th). He’s most likely to be axed from the Austrian team’s camp and be replaced by a suitable, ‘known’ figure.
Talking about replacing the ‘possibly’ outgoing Horner, Red Bull may already have a backup plan in place, in the name of Jonathan Wheatley.
According to German news site Motorsports Magazine, the current RB team manager would be ‘willing to step up and fill the role’. Horner, who’s been a key part of Red Bull’s record-breaking 2023 season, looks to be the most sensible and favorite candidate to replace Horner, and continue RB’s dominance in the next season.
Is Jonathan Wheatley the right man to replace Christian Horner at Red Bull? Let us know your opinion in the comments.
