How Britain's next F1 prospect grew up

Late September at Le Mans. At the foot of the Circuit de la Sarthe's steeply raked pitlane grandstand, Oliver Rowland stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his Fortec crew.

Sheffield's coming man has just wrapped up the Formula Renault 3.5 crown with a round to spare, sparking a deserved release of euphoria. Rowland has defined the weekend's agenda with yet another dominant performance, the frequency of which has led many to believe his is a talent worthy of Formula 1.

Joining in the celebrations, and holding the top-left corner of a Union Flag-emblazoned Rowland banner, is Racing Steps Foundation co-ordinator Derek Walters. For Pirelli's former motorsport manager, a bold tactical play worthy of Machiavelli has finally paid off.

Three years earlier, the Foundation's relationship with Rowland was decidedly cooler. For Walters, a principal player in directing RSF founder Graham Sharp's millions towards British talent, the time had come for drastic measures.

"Well, I was dropped," says Rowland, opening up on his turbulent winter of 2012. "I was off it. It happened a day before that year's Autosport Awards. I was attending a lunch at the RAC hotel, and while there I was shown into a room and told the news. The thing was, there were tickets being given out for the Awards.

"As I was the previous year's [McLaren Autosport BRDC] Award winner, I automatically got one as well. On the night, everyone from the RSF was on one table, and I was seated on a different table - but next to them. I thought that was a bit harsh!"

Rowland is able to make light of the revised seating arrangements at the motorsport world's premier awards ceremony now, but at the time, seemingly left with no means of continuing his chosen career path, he had been struck numb.

This cruel-to-be-kind treatment was exactly what Walters had thought necessary. "I got a call from Oliver's trainer saying, 'Oh, I think Ollie's really bricking it now,'" recounts Walters. "I thought, 'Yes! [punches the air] We might have got through to him this time.'"

THE KARTING PRODIGY

To explain how that curious situation came about, it is worth detailing how Rowland came to the Foundation's attention in the first place.

"It was through [karting legend and Zip Kart boss] Martin Hines, who really believed in the ability and talent of Oliver," says Walters. "That talent has never been in doubt."

Rowland was imbued with a love of speed from an early age.

"I loved bikes," he explains. "Me and my dad were talking about getting one. My mum wasn't keen, though. So just before my fourth birthday I got a little quad, and I was soon riding it around on two wheels on some playing fields near where we lived in Penistone [south Yorkshire].

"I can't actually remember this, but I did meet Martin Hines before I was five. My dad took me to Zip to see about getting a kart, but Martin refused to sell us one because he said I was too little. We ended up just going around the corner and buying another chassis instead!

"When I was nine I was always at the front in Cadets, and Martin took notice. The help grew, and he paid for my last year and got McLaren involved. They paid for three years of karting abroad."

McLaren helped Rowland's successful path through karting © Chris Walker Photography

At the mention of his time at McLaren, Rowland becomes enthused. "I had a full programme," he recounts. "They provided a flat, training - obviously I didn't do enough! I also did all my work experience there, going around to all of the different departments."

Rowland repaid the faith invested in him with a string of successes, the culmination of which was dominating the wet CIK-FIA Super KF World Cup at Suzuka in 2010.

Continued funding into cars was clearly justified. Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren boss at the time, was keen to put the company's protege on the RSF programme to help relieve the financial burden of support.

Before the 2010 Formula Renault Winter Series, RSF organised a shoot-out with Dan Wells at Rockingham. It was to be Rowland's first time in a racing car, but he emerged with the backing.

Rowland made tremendous progress over his first season in Formula Renault UK. A late charge propelled him to the runner-up spot behind the more experienced Alex Lynn, and he concluded the year by picking up the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.

PERSONAL HEARTACHE

Remaining with Fortec in 2012, Rowland went into the more competitive Eurocup and found it far more arduous.

The title would fall to Stoffel Vandoorne, who has gone on to be runaway GP2 champion in 2015. Vandoorne had the advantage of prior experience at several of the circuits on the calendar, so Rowland's third in the championship (current Red Bull F1 driver Daniil Kvyat was second) as a rookie was a respectable result. Had expectations been too high?

"Well, Stoffel was with [reigning champion team Josef] Kaufmann, Daniil was with Koiranen," says Rowland.

"It was my first year, and I was missing something. The tyre warm-up procedure had never really been explained to me. At Fortec that year, things were a little bit left to me. I only just finished third, so I was dissatisfied. Perhaps RSF didn't realise how tough Eurocup was, but... my head wasn't in the right place."

Tragedy had struck Rowland twice in close succession with the loss of his father Dave in 2010, and the death of Hines in '11.

"With all of the difficulties that he has had, that's where the values of the Foundation have been so relevant," says Walters, recalling his concern. "The human side is important, if you're going to get a result on the sporting side."

"The RSF wasn't happy with finishing third," reflects Rowland. "I wasn't doing all of the training that I was supposed to have been and they were at a loose end with me. The year before I had won the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, and Derek Warwick was really keen for me to carry on the programme - that's when he really got involved.

"After that I went to Derek's home in Jersey and stayed nearly a month. He was hot on my heels with training. I had a target weight to achieve, which I managed to get down to."

Walters jokes: "I had said to Derek Warwick, well you picked him, so you have a hand in this! Derek really did an exceptional job."

The extent of the BRDC president's generosity with his time to mentor Rowland was amazing given Warwick's multitude of business commitments. It is worth emphasising that Rowland was a talented young sportsman faced with some hurdles, rather than some sort of problem child. His disarmingly likeable nature helped Warwick establish a close bond.

"When my brother Paul died, I said I wouldn't get emotionally involved again with a young driver," says Warwick profoundly. "But with Ollie, I am emotionally involved. So much so, that I almost don't want to let the story go. He is so good, I know there is going to be a time when he outgrows me as well, because there will be better people taking him forward. That will hurt.

Rowland rubbed shoulders with F1 champion Vettel after winning MABA in 2011 © LAT

"Right from the first moment I saw Oliver in action at the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award evaluation, I could see he had something special. It was a bit raw. But then I am not sure Sebastian Vettel or Lewis Hamilton were polished when they were that age.

"About three years ago, the RSF were losing patience, because he didn't conform. We formulated a situation where RSF would back him, if I would look after him. I brought him into my home and took him to the gym. He was not fit, light or focused enough, but I think we helped to turn that around."

Warwick's guidance has extended to more esoteric matters, including dining decorum.

"We spent a lot of time on table manners!" laughs Warwick. "It is a silly thing, but they're important. You can't invest in young drivers who have very limited budgets, who have come from working-class backgrounds, if that is the right phrase, and expect them to be the ultimate polished article."

Another instrumental force in getting Rowland's career back on track was soon to come into the picture: enter Tony and Sarah Shaw, whose Manor Competition team had merged with Dutch-based MP Motorsport. Having guided Kimi Raikkonen and Hamilton to championship success with Manor in Formula Renault UK, Shaw had his sights set on Rowland as a future star.

"We heard that he may not be backed by Racing Steps any further," Tony recounts. "So we went down to see RSF ambassador John Surtees. My wife and I stayed with John. When we got on to the subject of Oliver, we said, 'Can you get him for us? Because we can turn him around.'"

GROWING UP OFF-TRACK

"There was no way that the kid could be so quick in races and on cold tyres and not be able to put together a new-tyre run," continues Shaw. "It wasn't a mental thing.

"When we first met him, it was, 'There's no way this guy gets nervous! Never in a month of Sundays'. RSF agreed to our proposal, but they wanted him to move to Holland. We would give him a job, look after him, keep him out of... 'trouble' isn't the right word. It is just he was quite an independent character."

A fierce rivalry between Fortec and Manor in the UK meant that Shaw did not know Rowland personally before meeting up for the journey from Hull to Rotterdam in February 2013.

"Obviously it was a difficult situation with losing his father, and unfortunately Sarah and I both know how that feels now. So for a lad of that age to have gone through it, it must have been extraordinarily difficult. But if you look at and speak to him these days you'd never think that.

"Me, Sarah and Oliver sat down and had a chat on the ferry. You knew straight away that the guy knew what he was talking about. He knew what was expected of him."

Rowland agrees: "Without Manor MP, I wouldn't be here. They made RSF a pretty exceptional offer. I went to stay in a big house with the team in Westmaas, near the factory. I needed that. I did a lot of finding out about myself. It was just a great year."

IMPROVING ON-TRACK

The late nature of the deal meant testing was restricted to the official tests, which were mostly wet. Only after the opening round, in a two-day test at the Red Bull Ring, was an issue with Rowland's technique in slow-to-medium-speed corners identified.

"Nobody had really picked up on this quite obvious foible," says Shaw. "Personally, I think it was because no one had worked with him on his driving hard enough. It was a combination of brake release and steering. Sarah, me and Jeremy Cotterill had to work on him hard, like a tag team but he turned it around."

"At Manor MP, they were quite adamant about how they wanted me to drive," confirms Rowland. "I wasn't too sure about it at first, but I got my head around it. When I first started there, we were pulling each others' hair out. Also, I hadn't driven in six months. I was rusty, but I didn't want to admit it. We made a good step at that Red Bull Ring test with the set-up, which worked with that technique."

Momentum swiftly built, leading to some astounding performances on the track as Rowland waged an intense title battle with eventual champion Pierre Gasly.

A technique adjustment in FR2.0 in 2013 went on to pay dividends

"No one can doubt Oliver's innate talent," states Shaw. "Some of his performances in 2013 were just jaw-dropping.

"At Most it was ridiculous, like we were in a different car. Five tenths up the road when we were on used tyres. This year, [Matthieu] Vaxiviere must have been pulling his hair out, since whenever he got into a situation with Oliver he lost out. That's just a mark of a guy who is a natural born racer."

Both Shaw and Rowland pinpointed his outstanding performance at Zandvoort's NEC meeting as the highlight of the year.

"After three laps, he got on the radio and said, 'Where are they all?' I said, 'Shut up and focus,'" laughs Shaw.

"Zandvoort was a bit special," agrees Rowland. "It was a bit of a shakedown for Barcelona. Since I only lived 50 minutes away, I didn't bother with Thursday and turned up Friday morning. I didn't know which way the track went. In qualifying I was one second quicker than everyone, and they had all tested there before. I was leading by 22 seconds and then the safety car came out..."

Rowland's mechanical ability, sharpened by late nights at the Manor MP base, came to the fore.

"Oliver was in the workshop every day," says Shaw. "One of the Renault scrutineers recounted a story from the Red Bull Ring where after the race he wanted to see the wheel bearings. Oliver just whipped round the back, took the upright off, and, overalls round his waist, stripped the wheelbearings. It just blew their brain. But that's the type of guy he is."

"I used to build my brake callipers and wheel bearings," reveals Rowland. "I would stay until nine or 10pm making sure everything was perfect. My mechanics were all really good, but I think I wanted to win more than them."

A loose connector at Spa and an unfortunate incident when he was punted off by fellow RSF driver Jake Dennis at the Hungaroring arguably cost Rowland the Eurocup crown. But the performances provided a convincing argument to step up to FR3.5.

THE FINISHED ARTICLE?

Those breathtaking performances evident in karting and FR2.0 continued into a race-winning, though often luckless, maiden FR3.5 campaign, and into this memorable year as well.

And any concerns over the quality of opposition in FR3.5 were quashed when Rowland was similarly impressive in two GP2 outings; but for a slow-moving Rio Haryanto lurching into his path at Maggots, Rowland should have started from second at Silverstone on his GP2 debut. His best sectors at Spa, where he did qualify second, were good enough for pole.

The Mercedes F1 team has handed Rowland around 25 days of simulator time this year, which Warwick attests has been so impressive the team drafted him in to help with energy-recovering strategies in Monaco.

But does Rowland think he is ready for F1?

"Definitely," he shoots back. "I understand I may have to wait for it to happen. But if I have an opportunity like Carlos [Sainz Jr] or Max [Verstappen], I can do it. We need to try and make it happen for 2017."

If such an opportunity arises, Rowland will not be short of people to thank for getting him there.

"Graham Sharp has been absolutely phenomenal," claims Warwick. "I think he has a bit of soft spot for Oliver. I also wouldn't be wasting three and a half years if I didn't think he was special.

"I see him as a second son almost. Is he better than 50 per cent of the drivers in Formula 1 already? 100 per cent. Is he as good as Lewis Hamilton? No. Not yet. Could he be? Maybe.

"He has got that amount of talent. His overtaking reminds me of Lewis, or Max Verstappen. He will still throw the odd curveball at you, which is different. But what do we need in F1 at the moment? Characters, people who are different. When you think, the biggest character in F1 is Kimi, and he says nothing!"

Shaw worked closely with Hamilton and also thinks comparison to the triple world champion is valid.

"It's fair to compare him with Lewis, just in the fact that he is such a fantastic racer. You would put your money on him any day. Perhaps you didn't have to work quite so hard with the likes of Raikkonen or Hamilton, but maybe the car they got was further up the road.

"He is a great lad. When he arrived in the GP2 team, it was just like nothing had changed. 'Hello lads, ay up'. Quick coffee, bit of a warm-up, gets in the car and is dynamite. Let's all hope and pray that he is destined for big things."