Jonathan Wheatley believes F1 teams should self-regulate track limits disputes, pushing back on Christian Horner’s call for more FIA intervention.
Wheatley does not believe that race control should be responsible for deciding whether drivers must give back a position after going off track. The Sauber F1 team director, and former sporting director at Red Bull, responded to Christian Horner’s suggestion on the matter.
Wheatley Defends Race Control
“I’ve spent a lot of time over the 19 years I was a sporting director working with the FIA trying to understand the pressure they’re under in race control, and trying to put myself in their shoes,” said Wheatley. “It’s not always the only incident they have to look at.”
“There can sometimes be many, especially after the first lap. I don’t know the details of what Christian was referring to. I didn’t really follow his race as much as ours. But, as I said, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to understand the pressures race control faces and trying to get a response.”
Teams Can Judge Themselves
In his view, stewards should not have to make these rapid decisions, and he believes teams have a clear understanding of the rules. Wheatley has had to manage such situations at Red Bull and had made good decisions, and this time he made the call himself at the start when both of his drivers went off the track (photo above), choosing to leave them in the positions they were in.
“Teams always have the option to do it themselves. Teams always have the ability to read the situation and do it themselves, and teams are very professional. They will receive recommendations, I’m sure, from both sides of the pit lane. We looked very closely at what happened in turn 1.”
“If we had had any doubts, we might have handled the situation differently, but we were very confident in our position. I think I’ve already said that the stewards have improved a lot recently. I think the FIA is doing a very good job in that area. But it’s a work in progress.”
Wheatley praises the ‘hard work’ behind Hülkenberg’s fifth place
And an “excellent collective strategy” from Sauber F1
Sauber F1 achieved its best result in three years this weekend in Barcelona, with Nico Hülkenberg finishing fifth. Team boss Jonathan Wheatley was delighted, highlighting that the team perfectly executed both the pit stops and the operational side overall.
“In Barcelona, the race team and everyone at the factory delivered an outstanding performance, particularly thanks to their hard work on deploying our upgrades,” said Wheatley. “We had opted for a soft-medium-soft strategy before the race, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Hülkenberg Shines in Strategy
“Both cars got off to good starts, showed solid race pace, and we executed an excellent collective strategy, which led to a strong overall performance. I want to congratulate the pit crew for their hard work throughout the race, including an exceptional 2.1-second stop.”
The Briton detailed the race that led Hülkenberg to fifth place: “Regarding Nico’s race, he had an excellent first lap, and we opted for an early stop to cover Bearman.”
“We came in under the safety car to fit a new set of softs, which allowed us to make a great overtake on Hamilton. Nico’s fifth place was not only a strong result, but also our best result since Imola 2022.”
Bold Call, Solid Drive
Gabriel Bortoleto finished 12th but drove a strong race despite a strategic gamble that didn’t pay off: “As for Gabriel, we brought him in on lap 13 to fit mediums, considering a potential one-stop strategy.”
“We chose an aggressive approach in hopes of scoring points, but unfortunately, that risk didn’t pay off. We eventually brought him in again under the safety car to fit a fresh set of softs, and he maintained solid pace until the end of the race.”
“It’s very satisfying to finish this European triple-header on such a high note, collecting 10 valuable points that reflect the hard work of the entire team.”
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