Kriti Mehrotra
While Jonathan Wheatley is no stranger to the world of motorsport racing, it was in 2024 that all his hard work really paid off as he landed arguably the most significant role in any F1 Team. That’s when he became a Team Principal, an official member of the so-called ruthless, political, and cutthroat “Piranha Club,” as described in Netflix’s ‘Formula 1: Drive to Survive’ season 8. However, he made it clear from the get-go that no matter what kind of environment his peers were facilitating, his approach was going to be much more collaborative, kinder, and supportive.
How Did Jonathan Wheatley Earn His Money?
A native of Beaconsfield, England, Jonathan Wheatley had reportedly developed a keen interest in the world of racing at an early age and decided that he wanted to pursue a career in the same. Thus, he worked hard to prove his mettle at every step of the way, soon realizing the beginning of his dreams by securing a Junior Mechanic spot at Benetton’s F1 Team at age 24 in 1991. According to records, he gradually rose through the ranks while remaining loyal to the organization, which became undeniably evident when he stayed on even after Renault took over in 2000.
Jonathan primarily worked at the Enstone-based team, progressing from Junior Mechanic to Backend Mechanic to Senior Mechanic and then finally to Chief Mechanic from 2001 until 2006. In these 15 years, he helped them secure 2 World Constructors’ Championships (1995 and 2005) as well as 33 Grand Prix victories before choosing to take a leap of faith by switching gears. He signed with Red Bull in 2006 and spent the ensuing 18 years working diligently to help Team Principal Christian Horner (2005-2025) make it one of Formula 1’s most dominant constructors.
As per records, Jonathan joined Red Bull as a Team Manager prior to moving up to Sporting Director in 2018, where his role was to handle communications among all crucial departments. Under their matte-colored banner, he won 6 World Constructors’ Championships (2010-2013, 2022, and 2023), 8 Drivers’ Championships (2010-2013 and 2021-2024), and 120 Grands Prix. He only parted ways with them after the 2024 season, when he got the incredible opportunity to serve as Kick Sauber’s F1 Team Principal in 2025, ahead of their Audi acquisition and rebranding.
Jonathan Wheatley’s Net Worth
Since Jonathan has served in motosports for almost 35 years as of writing, with each of them being on the paddock, it goes without saying that he has managed to accumulate significant wealth. His precise income over the years is unclear because he has been careful to keep such personal financial details private, but we do have some conservative estimates based on industry standards. From what we can tell, a Junior Mechanic in F1 earned $10,000-$15,000 per year in base salary in the early 1990s, but even then, they were rewarded with big bonuses if their team won Championships.
As for a Senior Mechanic in the late 1990s and Chief Mechanic in the early 2000s in F1, their base compensations were reportedly in the range of $25,000-$35,000 and $45,000-$50,000, respectively. However, the figures jump much higher when a managerial position is involved, with a Team Manager likely bagging between $100,000 and $250,000 in the early 2010s. Coming to a Sporting Director, they likely got to walk away with anywhere between $500,000 and $800,000 in the late 2010s and $800,000 to $1.2 million in the early 2020s. Coming to the role of a Team Principal, it is believed they earn a minimum of $1 million per season, so we assume Jonathan’s current base is around $1.5- 2 million. Thus, taking all these factors into consideration, along with his potential assets/investments, the assumption that his salary was always in line with industry standards, and adjusting for inflation, we believe his net worth is in the range of $10 million.
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