Manor continues its reconstruction

The context has changed significantly in twelve months: when we met Graeme Lowdon in the Silverstone paddock, Marussia had just scored its first points in F1 thanks to Jules Bianchi and hoped that the future would be even better.

On the occasion of the 2015 edition of the British Grand Prix, the context is quite different since the team is now called Manor, after going through bankruptcy. Nonetheless, the team has managed to stay afloat, at the cost of many efforts: « It is undeniable that we had to face many challenges, unusual challenges to start an F1 season. If it was the right way to do it, all teams would do it. »

In the team’s rescue process, it was important for its leaders not to spoil last year’s incredible performance and to affirm their respect for the championship and their desire to stay in it: « At a time when many people are talking about leaving F1, I believe all our efforts demonstrate our commitment to this sport. With all the team’s staff, we worked so hard to achieve last year’s result, finishing 9th in the championship. It would have been a real disaster to throw everything away. »

However, the axe came very close for the team. Indeed, the arrival of new investors occurred just before the auctioning of its latest equipment. This was canceled only at the very last moment, but it was essential to allow the team to function. The agreement was signed just a few hours before the deadline. It was therefore a real relief when it was finalized.

The negotiations for Stephen Fitzpatrick’s arrival began in October and November through the judicial administrators. However, initially, the different parties could not find common ground. The situation would only be resolved by January, notably with the auction deadline looming as the ultimate cutoff date.

But the arrival of new investors was only a step towards the reconstruction of the team, which would then reclaim its name Manor. Thus, it was necessary to call back the staff that had been laid off following the judicial reorganization: « It was the beginning of a huge effort to spread the news. As soon as we signed, we rushed to our phones to call back the key people needed to relaunch the team. »

A F1 team, like any business, lives primarily thanks to the people who are part of it. It was therefore essential to be able to rely on the central people of the organization to restart the operation. The challenge was different from that during the team’s launch for 2010: at the time, everything had to be built from a blank slate, whereas this year, the staff already had a common experience, which greatly facilitated the recovery.

Nevertheless, the current number of team employees is still far from reaching that of last year, when Marussia operated with two hundred employees. The current figure is barely more than half of that number. As John Booth acknowledged in a press conference, Manor truly started the season with almost all of its staff on the track and no one at the factory. The situation is beginning to improve, with ongoing recruitments: At each race, we feel like we are getting closer and closer to normal. We have restarted wind tunnel work, we have new improvements on the car.

Manor will thus take advantage of the fact that next year’s technical regulations will be very similar to this year’s, which will allow them to use this year’s advancements on next year’s car, especially since the recruitment of numerous leaders in the technical field.

But the technical department wasn’t the only one that needed to be rebuilt. The commercial machinery also had to be restarted, and new partners had to be canvassed. We’re also starting to see the results of these negotiations, with the arrival of Airbnb and Flex Box in recent weeks. One of the strongest arguments in these discussions remains the global fan base of this sport. It’s huge and they’re very engaged, but we can do even better.

Precisely, the GPDA has just made public the results of its survey among fans. However, Claire Williams acknowledged that the dissemination of this information was too late to be used at the most recent F1 Strategy Group meeting. Graeme Lowdon chose another approach to gather fans’ opinions. He went to meet them directly in the campgrounds and parking lots of Silverstone: « You always have to be wary of these giant surveys because you have to analyze the answers as well as the way the questions are asked. That’s why we took advantage of this Grand Prix to meet fans who actually travel to the circuits. »

The future of an F1 team is not guaranteed, but, at present, Manor hopes to regain the level it had just a year ago. The path of reconstruction is still long.

From our special correspondent in Silverstone.

With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr