In a rare interview, Manor owner Stephen Fitzpatrick talks to Sky F1's Simon Lazenby about the team's retro rebirth and their aspirations - already bearing fruits - to rise up the F1 grid
Wednesday 6 April 2016 12:16, UK
There is a retro feel about Manor Mercedes this year.
Their look harks back to the heyday of British racing of the sixties and seventies from the red, white and blue of the livery, to the redesigned logo and the Steve McQueen-inspired 'Le Mans' race suits.
With 2016 marking the 40th anniversary of James Hunt's incredible championship-winning season, I wonder if there's also a nod to the great character and the Hesketh 308B Hunt piloted the year before to his first and the team's only F1 victory in the Dutch GP. It was an incredible race when the plucky, fun-loving privateers held off the might of Niki Lauda and Ferrari.
Manor's owner Stephen Fitzpatrick and his team are clearly fans of the spirit of Hunt. They want to enjoy their time in F1 but make no mistake, there is nothing retro about their aspirations.
Like Hesketh, Fitzpatrick is a man who relishes standing up to the big boys. His energy firm Ovo only started trading seven years ago and by 2013 he was in front of the Parliamentary select committee criticising the top six energy firms for passing on paltry, unrepresentative cuts to the customer as the wholesale price of gas slumped.
"The energy sector in the UK is still dominated by a small number of big players trying to protect their own interests," says Fitzpatrick. "They run rings around an ineffective regulator that has ceded the right to write the rules to create a level playing field in the interests of the general public."
Does that sound familiar?
Fitzpatrick's sentiments angered his bigger rivals but it didn't do his company any harm when, in cutting Ovo's fuel prices by over 10%, he turned himself into a Robin Hood figure within the UK energy market. Over the next year their customer base grew by 300% and Ovo's revenues are now around $1bn annually. It allowed Fitzpatrick to sell a stake in his own business and fulfil a lifelong dream: to buy an F1 team.
"Manor represented a very unusual opportunity," he says. "A small team, with some track record of success, with the potential for a fresh start, but with the possibility to run close to break even. I have always loved F1 and always wanted to be involved, not just watching. I knew if I didn't buy Manor when I had the chance I'd always regret it.
"I don't expect to make any money but I hope to lose as little as possible! You have to invest in the team to grow its success and value over time but there are no short cuts."
The opportunity Fitzpatrick talks about came as a result of Marussia finishing the Constructors' Championship 10th ahead of Caterham in 2013 and 9th in 2014 courtesy of the late Jules Bianchi's magnificent ninth place in Monaco. By finishing in the top 10 two years running, Marussia qualified for F1's 'Column One' money in 2015; an even split of 23.5% of the FOM pot between the top 10 teams.
It equated to roughly $32m plus an improved chunk of the 'Column Two' performance-related cash - about $15m on top.
With $47m due to the team throughout 2015 and a figure similar due this year, Fitzpatrick pounced when Marussia filed for administration late in 2014. F1's history is littered with small teams with egotistical owners that haven't lasted a season, but was he one of them? As any savvy oil trader might, did he see an opportunity to purchase the team's debt cheaply and flip it for a swift profit as some paddock cynics had suggested? It seems not.
"No. There is no way to run an F1 team with Column One and Two money as the only income," he explains. "I think I bought the team at a good price but it was never to make money by selling it quickly. It would be like buying the house you always dreamed of and then selling it the next day to someone that offered you 10% more.
"With the smallest team's budgets being around $90m and an income of around $50m, running the team for a quick profit wasn't an option."
With only 10 teams in last year's championship and the Column One cash therefore again guaranteed, the plan for 2015 was to regain some stability with the feeling there was no sense in chasing down Sauber who were almost two seconds ahead.
Manor wanted a solid platform before throwing everything at the 2016 car - including gaining sponsors and key personnel. This year some of the budget deficit is made up by the $17m that Rio Haryanto brings from Indonesian oil giant Pertamina and from other sponsorship deals Manor director Abdulla Boulsien "hopes they can double in 2016". The team are chasing fashionable tech brands such as Shazam, Flexbox and Air BnB and talks are ongoing with another giant of the online age that could bear fruit soon.
No matter the sport whenever a new owner arrives an element of reconstruction is inevitable. For many it was sad to see Graeme Lowdon and John Booth leave after some incredibly tough periods during their six years at the helm. Sentiment and progress can be uneasy bedfellows, however, and the team has endeavoured to move forward building on the legacy of those who have gone before.
"We have added some great people to the team in the last six months and really strengthened some areas," says Fitzpatrick, "But this year's rocket was designed and built by the team that were around 12 months ago. They did an extraordinary job given the circumstances. We only moved into the new factory in September, imagine what this team can do by next year."
The experienced heads of former McLaren sporting director Dave Ryan, and Nicolas Tombazis and Pat Fry, both ex-Ferrari, can only help Manor as they enter this new era and the progress visible in Bahrain may well be seen as a threshold.
Pascal Wehrlein recorded the team's best qualifying result since a rain-affected Saturday at Spa two years ago but Wehrlein then backed it up with 13th on Sunday, outpacing both Force Indias, a Sauber and his team-mate in the process. Even more encouragingly, the German DTM champion set the third, third and fastest maximum speeds by sector during the race and completed the sixth-fastest lap. The Mercedes young driver's an important cog for Manor and the five-year engine deal Fitzpatrick struck with the world champions was perhaps his smartest move yet.
After everything they have been through, is there a single fan who would begrudge this team success? The faces may have changed and the team evolving but they are still on the grid and fighting. In these uncertain financial times isn't that victory enough...?
It might be for some, but not for Manor. They won't forget what they've been through but at last it seems they may be turning the page to what they hope will be an exciting new chapter.
SL
