Issue #645: Leading Audi into a new era

We start this week with our exclusive interview with Jonathan Wheatley, the man who will lead Audi into its maiden voyage into Formula 1. The former Red Bull Sporting Director picked up anchor and has sailed towards a new destination as Sauber boss as the team transitions into the German marque and its first foray into F1. Not only that, there is also plenty to learn about Wheatley the man. Mandy Curi sat down with the one of the sport's unsung gentlemen, with photos provided by Andy Hone of Sauber. In Start Your Engines this week, Jack Oliver Smith discusses the seemingly increasing divide at Ferrari, after its Chairman John Elkann appeared to criticise Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, and whether if it is holding back the Scuderia's progress towards fighting for success again. In MotoGP, the season concluded in Valencia, and it was Marco Bezzecchi who prevailed with a dominant performance, following on from Alex Marquez's victory in the Sprint. Henry Cheal and Eden Hannigan covered all the action. In the NTT IndyCar Series, there is still plenty to talk about despite the next season still several months away. After 17 years with Penske, Will Power has decided to jump ship and contest 2026 with Andretti Global. Kevin Dejewski discusses the end of such an enduring partnership and the beginning of a new one. Meanwhile in the UAE, the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League was back with another attempt to see whether AI could outperform a real life human racing driver, but insists it is intends to be its own series, rather than create a future rival for F1. James Phillips has all the details on another history-making event. Finally in Carla's Corner, we head back towards Maranello with the fallout between Elkann and the drivers, and asks whether the team would benefit from a multi-national backroom to add more where Italian passion lacks. And as always, we have all the news, views and stories in this week's edition of the most widely read weekly motorsport magazine in the world!