Audi Appoints Allan McNish as Racing Director Ahead of Miami Grand Prix

Allan McNish, a 56-year-old Scottish former racing driver and long-time Audi figure, has been appointed Racing Director of the Audi Formula One team, the manufacturer announced on Friday, with his duties beginning at the Miami Grand Prix scheduled for May 1-3. McNish fills the vacancy left by Jonathan Wheatley, whose departure was announced last month after only 11 months in the role, which he left for personal reasons. McNish reports directly to Team Principal and CEO Mattia Binotto, who had been covering Wheatley's duties in the interim. The appointment was confirmed in a statement from the Bavarian manufacturer, with Binotto describing McNish as bringing an exceptional combination of racing experience, technical understanding, and leadership to the role. McNish has been involved in Audi's Formula One project since its inception and previously served as principal of the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Formula E team.

McNish's role spans strategy, engineering, and driver management McNish's responsibilities as Racing Director cover a broad range of trackside functions, including oversight of sporting matters, engineering coordination, driver management, race strategy, and garage operations, as well as media and partner-related activities at the circuit. He will also retain his existing position as head of Audi's Driver Development Programme, continuing to oversee the manufacturer's pipeline of young talent alongside his new duties. Binotto praised the appointment as strengthening trackside leadership at a critical stage of the project. „Allan brings an exceptional combination of racing experience, technical understanding and leadership to this role. He has been a central part of the motorsport structure of Audi for many years and, in his roles within Audi Revolut F1 Team since its start, has played a key role in shaping our preparation for Formula One, not least with his work around technical partnerships.” — Mattia Binotto via Reuters McNish himself described the role as a privilege and a milestone, expressing a clear focus on improving competitive output at the track. „The project we are building is ambitious, and my focus will be on ensuring that all aspects of our race operations are delivering at their most competitive level and continuously improving.” — Allan McNish via BBC

Three Le Mans titles and a Formula One stint define McNish's career McNish is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, having claimed victory in 1998 with Porsche and in 2008 and 2013 with Audi, with the 2013 triumph also bringing him the FIA World Endurance Championship title. His Formula One career consisted of 16 Grands Prix with Toyota in 2002, during which he never scored points under the scoring system of the time, which awarded points only to the top six finishers. His best result that season was a seventh-place finish in Malaysia. McNish has maintained a close association with Audi across multiple motorsport disciplines over many years, making his promotion to Racing Director a continuation of an established relationship rather than an external hire. Binotto's statement underlined that McNish's internal knowledge of the team's structure and technical partnerships was a key factor in the decision.

Audi entered Formula One by acquiring the Swiss-based Sauber team, which had competed in the sport for decades under various guises. The 2026 season marks the first year the manufacturer has competed under its own brand and with its own engine. Jonathan Wheatley, who had previously served as sporting director at Red Bull Racing, joined Audi as Team Principal at the project's inception but announced his departure for personal reasons after 11 months, leaving Binotto to assume dual responsibilities. Audi has publicly stated its ambition to be in a position to compete for the Formula One world championship by 2030.

Audi sits eighth after three races in debut season The appointment comes as Audi navigates a challenging debut campaign in Formula One, with the team currently ranked eighth out of 11 constructors after three races. The team's drivers for the 2026 season are Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. Wheatley's abrupt departure, announced just days before the third round of the season in Japan, created an immediate leadership gap that Binotto filled on a temporary basis while the team reorganized its management structure. The Miami Grand Prix, set to take place on May 1-3, will serve as McNish's first race weekend in his new capacity. 2030 (year) — Audi's target year to compete for world championship The team's stated long-term ambition remains unchanged: to build toward championship contention within four years, with McNish's appointment framed as a structural step toward that goal.