Is Racing Point breaking down in Canada?

Lawrence Stroll is he a pioneer?

It is rare for Canadian entrepreneurs to have been interested in F1. Since the creation of the world championship in 1950, there were only two to have risked it before Lawrence Stroll and the consortium he initiated decided to join Force India. The Stebro firm, specialized in automobile accessories and manufacturer of Formula Junior chassis, was the first in 1963, for the United States Grand Prix. Peter Broeker, who was also the owner of the firm, only made an appearance at the wheel of a strange team – an F. Ford chassis tinkered with to accommodate a 1500 cc Ford engine developing 3 hp!

In qualifying, he lost just over 15 seconds to pole-holder Graham Hill. Despite everything being allowed to start, he finished 7th after 22 laps! The journey of Walter Wolf and his Walter Wolf Racing team over the course of its three years of existence was very convincing. Passionate about motorsport, the man who made his fortune in the oil exploitation of the North Sea launched on the adventure of F1 in 1975 by financing the modest team Williams. The association only lasted one year since at the end of 1976, the Canadian bought the entire structure, separated from the Briton and took the name “Walter Wolf Racing”.

In 1977, for his first season in the discipline as a full-fledged team, Walter Wolf gave himself the means to achieve his ambitions by placing Harvey Postlethwaite at the drawing board and Jody Scheckter behind the wheel. From the first Grand Prix of the season, in Argentina, the South African won. Two other victories would follow in Monaco and Canada which allowed him to win the honorary title of vice-champion. Unfortunately, the following two seasons were not of the same order, and Wolf threw in the towel at the end of the 1979 financial year. In terms of team, Canada then entered a long winter, but on the track, Gilles Villeneuve first and then his son Jacques were going to spring. We would have to wait until 2018 and the takeover of Force India to see the maple leaf flag fly again in the paddock.

What are Stroll’s ambitions for the team?

On August 7, 2018, the receivers responsible for the liquidation of Force India accepted the takeover offer from the consortium led by the multi-billionaire whose son Lance plays for Williams. Accused of coming to the aid of the son whose career is struggling to take off, the entrepreneur defends himself by putting forward the commercial argument. “I saw the liquidation of Force India as a business opportunity as F1 talks about introducing a capped budget and better revenue distribution between teams, He says. It is therefore a viable economic model for a company of this type. I've been in the sport for 30 years. There are only 10 teams and, if you look at franchise value in the NFL, rugby or British football, an asset like this, treated correctly, increases significantly over the years.

The team has excellent management which must be supported initially, before establishing good financial stability to progress in the hierarchy. In the short term, we want to continue fighting where we are. In the medium term, we want to try and fight for third place and, in the longer term, when all the rules have changed in 2021, we hope that we will then be one of the best teams in the paddock. » According to the boss, the takeover would therefore not be the work of a father living his passion by proxy, but that of a hollow-nosed investor. What many observers doubt...

Is there a Racing Point effect in Canada?

Louis Butcher of the Journal de Montréal is one of those who think that Lawrence Stroll's primary motivation is first and foremost to ensure a future for his son Lance in Formula One. Hence his reluctance, too, to consider Racing Point as a Canadian team. “You have to be honest enough to say that the Racing Point team is only 60% Canadian, but it is generally considered as such by the local media, since it is managed by a Canadian and others members of the consortium are also. This creates a small resurgence of interest in the discipline in Canada, but we remain far from the impact of Jacques Villeneuve. »

More enthusiastic is obviously François Dumontier, the promoter of the Canadian Grand Prix. “All the organizers want to rely on a driver or a national team,” he notes. Lance Stroll is not only Canadian, he is Montrealer. He lives here. That has an influence on ticketing, as does the fact that the team is partly Canadian. I worked with Lawrence when he decided to launch his car in Toronto. A stroke of genius that allowed people to realize that he was not alone, that there were other Canadian entrepreneurs involved like André Desmarais. For the Grand Prix, this is an asset. When we opened the garages, Lance brought in a car of Great Britain. It is important. »

However, it is to be feared that a lot of water will still flow between the banks of the St. Lawrence before Racing Point is fully considered, as the heir to Wolf Racing. She will also have to be dubbed by Jacques Villeneuve, and it is far from won. “She is based in England, affirms the man whose name alone is synonymous with F1 from Quebec to British Columbia. To me, there is nothing Canadian about it other than the identity of its owner. Racing Point is running a Canadian driver but she will never be considered Canadian by fans. She is no more Canadian than Red Bull Racing is Austrian! »

Will “poutine” replace “fish & chips”?

No doubt it will take even more time for the links uniting the team based in Silverstone in Canada to end up being felt in the county of Northampton. This year, for the men of technical director Andy Green, the only new thing on Ile Notre-Dame was the new garages, not the maple leaf banner above their heads. It is true that the team has traveled a lot since its founder Eddie Jordan sold it to Alexander Shnaider in 2005. From being British, it officially became Russian in 2006 when it took the name Midland, then Dutch the following year when Spyker Cars acquired it and finally became Indian when it fell into the hands of the picturesque Vijay Mallya in 2008.

That it is today under a Canadian protectorate hardly moves Otmar Szafnauer, who has been walking the corridors of the English structure since 2009. For him, the priority is not to replace “fish & chips” with “poutine” in the canteen. from the factory, but to prevent it from choking now that it has a decent budget to swallow. Before, in the lean times not so long ago, the team did everything with nothing, sometimes climbing onto the podium and fighting for 4th place in the Manufacturers' championship. Losing this commando spirit, now that the budget is more comfortable and the team welcomes new members, is Szafnauer's great fear.

“A good twenty people have joined us over the last few months, notes the general manager. In terms of expansion, you have to be careful to recruit the right people in the right departments. We must not lose what we were good at. Before adding resources, you need to think carefully and not rush. You have to take your time to have a good understanding of the needs. Know what to touch and what not to touch. » Yesterday, Vijay Mallya knew how to breathe a little of this “Incredible India” into the walls of Silverstone without touching the spirit of the place. Today, it is up to Lawrence Stroll to ensure that the graft takes hold. With the help of the son.

Photos © DPPI / A. Vincent