Formula 1: Force India feared Caterham/Manor fate
Force India chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer says the rescued Formula 1 team feared it would suffer the same demise as Caterham and Manor after falling into administration
The Silverstone-based Force India team's salvation was revealed on Tuesday after its administrators agreed a deal with a consortium led by Lawrence Stroll, father of current Williams F1 driver Lance.
That means the team has been returned to solvency, with all 405 jobs saved and "significant" funding guaranteed, plus a commitment to pay its creditors in full.
When Caterham and Marussia went into administration at the end of 2014, only Marussia continued, having gained fresh investment under the Manor name. However, it was placed in administration again at the end of 2016 and then collapsed for good.
"Once we went into administration, there were a couple that have been there and didn't come out," Szafnauer told Autosport. "So, there is a lot of trepidation amongst all the team members, and a lot of anxiety, because we didn't know where it was going to go.
"It's a huge relief to know there's a future for the team. We'll be able to continue as a normal Formula 1 team."
Szafnauer played a key role in helping the administrators find the investors, with Stroll's consortium comprising Canadian entrepreneur Andre Desmarais, Jonathan Dudman of Monaco Sports and Management, fashion business leader John Idol, telecommunications investor John McCaw Jr, financial expert Michael de Picciotto, and Stroll's business partner Silas Chou.
The new owners' plan regarding senior team personnel is unknown.
Vijay Mallya, co-owner of the team for the last 11 years, had been its official team principal, with Bob Fernley acting as his deputy.
Szafnauer said he did not know if he and Fernley would retain their positions.
"It's early days," Szafnauer said. "I would hope they would keep the senior management on. This just happened, I haven't sat down with the new owners to say 'what do you want to do?'."
Stroll has been helping bankroll Williams recently, and his son Lance made his grand prix debut with the team in 2017.
The younger Stroll is now expected to switch to Force India, which is likely to pursue a name change for 2019 now it is not under Vijay Mallya's control.
Szafnauer said that situation was currently as uncertain as the one facing the team's senior personnel.
"In the near future, we'll have all those conversations," he said. "But that's looking forwards, not looking backwards."
Stroll-backed consortium saves Force India F1 team
Force India targets immediate F1 updates after Stroll-led rescue
Castroneves: “Too early” to think about potential replacement by Blomqvist
Four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves says it’s too soon to consider Meyer Shank Racing might want to swap him to the IMSA squad and bring Tom Blomqvist over to IndyCar.
Why some DTM teams take out crash insurance but others gamble
The 2022 DTM season featured several major pile-ups and accidents, costing teams several hundred thousands in repair costs. While some had insured cars against such damage, others weren’t so well prepared…
Ricciardo: Australian GP buzz will tell me a lot about F1 comeback
Red Bull third driver Daniel Ricciardo says attending his home grand prix in Melbourne will likely tell him whether he wants to make a full-time comeback to Formula 1 or not.
Kirkwood admits he overdrove as an IndyCar rookie
Kyle Kirkwood admits he was overdriving at AJ Foyt Racing in 2022 and is expecting to rebuild his reputation at Andretti Autosport.
The pioneering F1 car that preceded Lotus’s terminal decline
In the hands of Ayrton Senna the actively suspended 99T would be the last F1 race-winning Lotus but, as STUART CODLING reveals, it was a complicated machine that caused more problems than it solved
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
How do the best races of F1 2022 stack up to 2021?
OPINION: A system to score all the grands prix from the past two seasons produces some interesting results and sets a standard that 2023 should surely exceed
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.