RIP Manor Racing (2010-2017)

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 30 Oct 2015, 15:45

CoopsII wrote:
East Londoner wrote:To the surprise of everyone, Graeme Lowdon and John Booth are tendering their resignations

I think that's a mistake at a time when things were looking up for the team. I get that new people want to do things their own way but those guys had experience to match almost anybody in the pit-lane.

Yeah, that's a massive mistake, one they'll come to regret. Together those two have kept that team afloat from the start and personify the whole nature of the team. Honest, good natured people doing the best with what they've got. Really disappointing news as far as I'm concerned.

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 30 Oct 2015, 15:57

AndreaModa wrote:Yeah, that's a massive mistake, one they'll come to regret. Together those two have kept that team afloat from the start and personify the whole nature of the team. Honest, good natured people doing the best with what they've got. Really disappointing news as far as I'm concerned.

It has the same smell about it as the HRT plans of 2012. We all know how that ended. :facepalm:

Backmarker · Post by **Backmarker** » 30 Oct 2015, 16:14

Awful - Booth and Lowdon are motorsport people, Fitzpatrick is a businessman whose interest will inevitably wane.

IceG · Post by **IceG** » 30 Oct 2015, 17:21

Sky are suggesting that Manor and ProDrive could merge and bring Martin Whitmarsh back as team principle...

Backmarker · Post by **Backmarker** » 30 Oct 2015, 18:12

IceG wrote:Sky are suggesting that Manor and ProDrive could merge and bring Martin Whitmarsh back as team principle...

Prodrive are the New Jersey Grand Prix of F1 teams.

I've also heard Carlin rumoured. Throw Direxiv into the mix and we've gone back to 2006.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 30 Oct 2015, 18:27

Backmarker wrote:
IceG wrote:Sky are suggesting that Manor and ProDrive could merge and bring Martin Whitmarsh back as team principle...

Prodrive are the New Jersey Grand Prix of F1 teams.

I've also heard Carlin rumoured. Throw Direxiv into the mix and we've gone back to 2006.

There could be some truth in this. I had a look at Manor's new base in Banbury last week. It's actually within Prodrive's new building, so maybe they're just renting space or perhaps something bigger is afoot.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 30 Oct 2015, 18:42

Backmarker wrote:Prodrive are the New Jersey Grand Prix of F1 teams.

I disagree. USF1 are the New Jersey Grand Prix of F1 teams. Or perhaps Stafan GP. But Dave Richards of Prodrive has led both Benetton and Honda for a time, thereby indirectly leading to Prodrive having had a presence in F1.

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 30 Oct 2015, 19:21

dr-baker wrote:
Backmarker wrote:Prodrive are the New Jersey Grand Prix of F1 teams.

I disagree. USF1 are the New Jersey Grand Prix of F1 teams. Or perhaps Stafan GP. But Dave Richards of Prodrive has led both Benetton and Honda for a time, thereby indirectly leading to Prodrive having had a presence in F1.

Neither really works. USF1 had two times in the same year they promised to show up and then disappeared, which isn't like NJ's many annual reappearances. Meanwhile, Prodrive haven't come as close to being in F1 as New Jersey.

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 31 Oct 2015, 17:02

And now Bob Bell has also left the team...

Post by **mario** » 31 Oct 2015, 20:12

Simtek wrote:And now Bob Bell has also left the team...

If the news that Bell is leaving is correct, then it looks like things have begun to sour very rapidly for Manor. There have been some suggestions that Lowdon and Booth were unhappy with Fitzpatrick's plans for the future, and the fact that Bell has followed hot on their heels suggests that there has been a marked change in philosophy within the team that they could not stomach.

Post by **Ataxia** » 31 Oct 2015, 20:39

Three job vacancies at Manor, you say? Where's my CV...

Meatwad · Post by **Meatwad** » 31 Oct 2015, 21:31

This looks like a job for...

Collieafc · Post by **Collieafc** » 01 Nov 2015, 09:44

Reading the article, it looks like its surprised Mercedes enough that they are also wondering whats going on

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 01 Nov 2015, 11:17

Collieafc wrote:Reading the article, it looks like its surprised Mercedes enough that they are also wondering whats going on

It sounds like Mr Fitzpatrick hasn't really embedded himself in the Formula 1 eco-system. The main acts in the circus always seem to have three or four hands each, what with how many pies they tend to have fingers in.

I'm starting to wonder if Mr Fitzpatrick believes he knows better than those who are lifers in the industry. That a fresh, outsiders perspective will revolutionise the team ownership model. If that's so - this is going to end in complete catastrophe.

It's hard to see what his angle here is. Forcing all the senior staff into resigning is a huge red flag. All the pieces of the puzzle for running a Formula 1 team well were finally falling into place, and he's just undone all the hard work since the administration phase.

If this contributes to an irreversible decline (and I do believe it will at this point), we may need to start rolling out these;

Post by **mario** » 01 Nov 2015, 12:04

Biscione wrote:
Collieafc wrote:Reading the article, it looks like its surprised Mercedes enough that they are also wondering whats going on

It sounds like Mr Fitzpatrick hasn't really embedded himself in the Formula 1 eco-system. The main acts in the circus always seem to have three or four hands each, what with how many pies they tend to have fingers in.

I'm starting to wonder if Mr Fitzpatrick believes he knows better than those who are lifers in the industry. That a fresh, outsiders perspective will revolutionise the team ownership model. If that's so - this is going to end in complete catastrophe.

It's hard to see what his angle here is. Forcing all the senior staff into resigning is a huge red flag. All the pieces of the puzzle for running a Formula 1 team well were finally falling into place, and he's just undone all the hard work since the administration phase.

If this contributes to an irreversible decline (and I do believe it will at this point), we may need to start rolling out these;

It does sound as if Fitzpatrick might well be thinking along those lines - Adam Cooper has reported that Booth and Lowdon seem to have chosen to leave over arguments about the future direction of the team and the fact that Fitzpatrick also seems to have been rebuffing offers from other parties who were interested into buying into the team. http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/manor ... th-resign/

As for Bob Bell, again it sounds as if the dispute there is over the management structure of the team - Bell's role was to restructure the technical team at Manor, rather than a direct involvement in the development of the car.

Unfortunately, I am beginning to suspect that Bernie's complaint about Fitzpatrick might indeed be correct - that he is hoping to run the team on a skeleton crew for the next couple of years, knowing that Manor are guaranteed at least $100 million in revenue from FOM for 2015 and 2016 (even if beaten by Haas in 2016, Haas would only begin receiving Manor's current cut of the TV rights if they beat them in 2017 as well), and is simply trying to skim off as much money from FOM as possible in those few years before dumping the team. The fact that he has rejected offers from other parties to buy into the team might support that claim - because those third parties would, no doubt, be expecting to receive a share of the possible profits from FOM.

Waris · Post by **Waris** » 01 Nov 2015, 12:30

This makes me so, so sad and mad. I have very little hope of it not (eventually) ruining the team, but let me wait and hope that I may be proved wrong.

This shows the double-edged sword of letting someone with money buy into your team: they needed Fitzpatrick's money in the first instance to survive, but now that he is the owner, he can just go and do this. A tragic aspect of running an F1 team these days.

Backmarker · Post by **Backmarker** » 01 Nov 2015, 15:22

I wouldn't imagine that Bob Bell will be without a job for too long.

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 01 Nov 2015, 16:00

Poor Manor. But it's still good though right? He's keeping the team afloat at the very least

This is all I could think of when I heard this news

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 01 Nov 2015, 18:14

Biscione wrote:
Collieafc wrote:Reading the article, it looks like its surprised Mercedes enough that they are also wondering whats going on

It sounds like Mr Fitzpatrick hasn't really embedded himself in the Formula 1 eco-system. The main acts in the circus always seem to have three or four hands each, what with how many pies they tend to have fingers in.

I'm starting to wonder if Mr Fitzpatrick believes he knows better than those who are lifers in the industry. That a fresh, outsiders perspective will revolutionise the team ownership model. If that's so - this is going to end in complete catastrophe.

It's hard to see what his angle here is. Forcing all the senior staff into resigning is a huge red flag. All the pieces of the puzzle for running a Formula 1 team well were finally falling into place, and he's just undone all the hard work since the administration phase.

If this contributes to an irreversible decline (and I do believe it will at this point), we may need to start rolling out these;

I hate to say 'I told you so' here but I did say from Day 1 when I knew that Fitzpatrick was buying in that he's an utter gobshite with no clue what he's doing other than a talent for making the media think he's great.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 02 Nov 2015, 00:32

Barbazza wrote:I hate to say 'I told you so' here but I did say from Day 1 when I knew that Fitzpatrick was buying in that he's an utter gobshite with no clue what he's doing other than a talent for making the media think he's great.

Your initial comments you wrote when Fitzpatrick first came in was what I first thought of when this news broke. I'm sad to say it, but it seems you were on the money from the start.

With Bell now gone as well, all of the good work done this year up until now (aside from the Mercedes engine deal) has all been undone.

It wouldn't surprise me if the team sponsors get scared off as well now. What a crying shame.

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 03 Nov 2015, 18:17

Will Stevens stay at Manor next year?

Apparently, "everything is moving in the right direction", according to the man himself.

Backmarker · Post by **Backmarker** » 03 Nov 2015, 19:05

Simtek wrote:Will Stevens stay at Manor next year?

Apparently, "everything is moving in the right direction", according to the man himself.

I can't see that he had many options left in F1 for next season, especially now Kvyat has been announced at Red Bull.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 03 Nov 2015, 19:22

Backmarker wrote:
Simtek wrote:Will Stevens stay at Manor next year?

Apparently, "everything is moving in the right direction", according to the man himself.

I can't see that he had many options left in F1 for next season, especially now Kvyat has been announced at Red Bull.

Lol.

I read somewhere that Stevens was being asked for £10 million by Manor for 2016. I doubt that would have come from Booth and Lowdon. He's been beaten by Rossi at every race so far and Mehri has done a good job against him too.

Backmarker · Post by **Backmarker** » 04 Nov 2015, 18:40

AndreaModa wrote:
Backmarker wrote:
Simtek wrote:Will Stevens stay at Manor next year?

Apparently, "everything is moving in the right direction", according to the man himself.

I can't see that he had many options left in F1 for next season, especially now Kvyat has been announced at Red Bull.

Lol.

I read somewhere that Stevens was being asked for £10 million by Manor for 2016. I doubt that would have come from Booth and Lowdon. He's been beaten by Rossi at every race so far and Mehri has done a good job against him too.

If Mercedes were really offering a reduction in engine costs to get a seat for Wehrlein, and if Rio Haryanto really does/did have a truckload of Pertamina money, I can see the seat getting inflated to £10 million for Stevens.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 05 Nov 2015, 02:27

It wouldn't surprise me to see Stevens return next year, anyone know what sponsorship he has?

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 05 Nov 2015, 09:10

Barbazza wrote:I hate to say 'I told you so' here but I did say from Day 1 when I knew that Fitzpatrick was buying in that he's an utter gobshite with no clue what he's doing other than a talent for making the media think he's great.

And how many times have we seen this sort of thing happen? Business men entering the sport and applying their own models on the structures of teams that were ticking along quite well as they were? It's quite common in business to come in and say nothing will change to give a bit of stability but as time goes by the head honcho decides he'd prefer people in key positions that THEY'D hired. It rarely works in F1.

Faustus · Post by **Faustus** » 09 Nov 2015, 12:23

RonDenisDeletraz wrote:It wouldn't surprise me to see Stevens return next year, anyone know what sponsorship he has?

I believe it's family money or money from family connections.

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 10 Nov 2015, 23:30

Manor just followed Kevin Magnussen on Twitter, just saying...

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 11 Nov 2015, 00:35

AdrianBelmonte_ wrote:Manor just followed Kevin Magnussen on Twitter, just saying...

Ah they're just as curious as we all are about what he'll be up to next year, that's all.

Would be a nice bit of positive news if they can snatch him though. And I bet, if they do, there'll be an agreement in there to do Le Mans with Porsche and miss at least one race.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 11 Nov 2015, 02:05

K-Mag's at Manor would be a nice little surprise. Mercedes engine and a proven driver would make people sit up and take notice. However, I feel the team are going to fall away now Booth and Lowdon have handed their notices in

Post by **Londoner** » 11 Nov 2015, 19:21

Hmmm, maybe this could be the reason for all the upheaval.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 11 Nov 2015, 19:58

What I would love to see is either of these interested parties to buy Manor and then re-install Lowdon and Booth back at the team. That would be hilarious!

AustralianStig · Post by **AustralianStig** » 11 Nov 2015, 20:37

http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/17581/ ... ying-manor

Nope nope nope nope nope. Does Dale Earnhardt Jr even have any open-wheel experience?

Post by **Ataxia** » 11 Nov 2015, 20:45

AustralianStig wrote:http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/17581/10063917/american-businessman-tavo-hellmund-interested-in-buying-manor

Nope nope nope nope nope. Does Dale Earnhardt Jr even have any open-wheel experience?

Earnhardt Jr doesn't want to race open-wheelers. Regardless, there's no actual quote to suggest anything like this, I think it's just a finger-in-the-air statement that might have been said out of context, or as a joke...I dunno.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 11 Nov 2015, 21:32

He's also as close to owning a superlicence as Carmen Jorda is.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 11 Nov 2015, 23:59

AndreaModa wrote:What I would love to see is either of these interested parties to buy Manor and then re-install Lowdon and Booth back at the team. That would be hilarious!

Would not have a problem with this...

Waris · Post by **Waris** » 12 Nov 2015, 01:35

Ataxia wrote:
AustralianStig wrote:http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/17581/10063917/american-businessman-tavo-hellmund-interested-in-buying-manor

Nope nope nope nope nope. Does Dale Earnhardt Jr even have any open-wheel experience?

Earnhardt Jr doesn't want to race open-wheelers. Regardless, there's no actual quote to suggest anything like this, I think it's just a finger-in-the-air statement that might have been said out of context, or as a joke...I dunno.

He said he wanted him to "lead" the team. I interpreted it as him becoming the team principal, rather than a driver.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 12 Nov 2015, 01:47

I doubt Dale Jr would have any interest in driving for Manor. He is one of the highest paid drivers in NASCAR, and his sizeable fanbase Jr Nation (like the Tifosi, just more redneck) would be complaining endlessly

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 14 Nov 2015, 18:23

Dave Ryan has been confirmed to be Manor's new racing director.

golic_2004 · Post by **golic_2004** » 14 Nov 2015, 19:17

And if that's not good enough news, check who is offered a job. http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/wurz- ... -at-manor/