Jonathan started his Formula One career at Benetton as a mechanic in the early 1990s eventually rising to the position of Race Team Chief Mechanic in 2001 before choosing to leave the team at the height of its success as a championship winner with Fernando Alonso.
"It was a difficult decision," he says. “Red Bull offered me a wonderful opportunity to build a race team I would want to work in. It took a while – because it takes time to create an environment in which people can thrive – but I'm very proud of what we've achieved.”
And those achievements are significant, with Jonathan contributing to all of the Team’s five Constructors’ and six Drivers’ Championships. There is one that stands out though.
"I've been fortunate to be involved with winning championships as a Mechanic, as a Chief Mechanic and now as a Team Manager. Of all of those I think I'd have to choose the first championship here at Red Bull as the one which really stands above the others. We won it in typical Red Bull style with everything going on: cars crashing, engine failures and everything else. We seemed to do it the hard way – but the resilience of the Team stood out. That made me proud. There was so much to soak up, so much excitement and commotion. It really was an extraordinary achievement for the Team."
Among the great many jobs that fall under the aegis of the Sporting Director, pit stop performance is that which has the most resonance for racing fans. Under Jonathan’s guidance, the Oracle Red Bull Racing pit crew have become the benchmark for F1. They were the first crew to break the two-second barrier for completing a pit stop and, beyond the headline times, have raised the bar for season-long consistency.
After winning the inaugural DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award in 2018 as consistently the quickest across the season, the following year the Team set a world record with a lightning-fast 1.82s stop for Max Verstappen at that year’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
At the end of 2019, the crew added a second consecutive seasonal award and the Team has gone unbeaten since, with five DHL titles under its belt.
“I’m tremendously proud of this Team and I love every second of working here,” says Jonathan. “We’ve created an inclusive environment where everyone is valued. We really enjoy our racing. You can see it in the people in the garage. It’s not just a cliché.”
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