Bortoleto praises Wheatley, but not ‘surprised’ by Audi exit

Gabriel Bortoleto has praised the work done by former Audi team boss Jonathan Wheatley during his brief tenure with the team, but insists he wasn’t surprised by the Briton’s departure.

Audi announced Wheatley’s exit last week for “personal reasons”, with many pundits interpreting the shock move as a precursor to the F1 veteran’s arrival at Aston Martin, where he is expected to take over Adrian Newey’s team principal duties.

While the timing of Audi’s announcement raised eyebrows, the speed raised even more. But Bortoleto, insists he wasn’t really caught off guard.

“To be honest, no, because I think inside the team, we are very clear with this type of thing,” the Brazilian explained in Suzuka on Thursday.

“So it’s not something that got me by surprise. I’m not going to lie, it happened very quickly. He joined last year. But again, when you have personal things to put in place, that’s the priority.”

That duality – clarity inside the team, chaos outside it – captures the mood at Audi right now.

Wheatley’s departure may have blindsided observers, but internally, the message appears to have landed with less drama.

Still, even Bortoleto admits the turnaround was abrupt.

“I think everything happened extremely quickly after China. I don’t know exactly the date, but it was somewhere between China and here,” he said.

Respect without attachment

Despite the sudden exit, there’s no disappointment on the part of Bortoleto – only measured appreciation.

“Well, he spoke really good things about me, so I’m grateful for that, and I spent good time with him as well when we were on track, and I learned good things,” he said.

“It’s still in the very early stages as well. It’s the first race we are going to do that he’s out, but I hope the best for him in his future.”

Their final interaction was brief, almost businesslike.

“I haven’t talked much with him, just a little chat after the announcement,” he added.

“As he made public as well, he couldn’t commit to the project because of personal issues, personal things, that obviously, I didn’t go into detail with him exactly what it is.

“It’s his problem, whatever it is, and I keep it like this.”

• Read also: The ‘long conversation’ that may have led to Wheatley’s Audi exit

If there’s a sting, Bortoleto hides it well. His verdict on Wheatley is clear – but notably framed in the past tense.

“He was a good team principal within the team. People liked him, he did a very good job in structuring things here, so he was good while it lasted,” he concluded.

Hulkenberg shrugs it off

If Bortoleto offered calm acceptance, teammate Nico Hulkenberg delivered something even cooler: indifference.

“It’s not a setback. A Formula 1 team is made of many people. We need strong people but we have, with Mattia, still a leader,” commented the German.

"It’s not like we’re without leadership and without structure and without a plan. So whilst it has changed unexpectedly, everything else is on target as we planned and intended before.

“So on the operations side on a race weekend, I don’t think it is going to change too much. Formula 1 teams are bigger than one person.”

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