[Team] Racing Point: What now for Force India

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

What exactly is a Great Brand Leader? What brands and what markets? Not all markets are suited to the same brand and vice versa.

Name the fashion house and he's had his hands in it, profited from it or his employees founded it. Believe he has Polo Ralph Lauren, Michael Korrs, Jimmy Choos (the shoe guys no idea the spelling), Tommy Hilfiger, previous investment in the LVMH empire and assisted in them building the company and adding brands to the group. And he owns a certain Mont-Tremblant racetrack now.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

Name the fashion house and he's had his hands in it, profited from it or his employees founded it. Believe he has Polo Ralph Lauren, Michael Korrs, Jimmy Choos (the shoe guys no idea the spelling), Tommy Hilfiger, previous investment in the LVMH empire and assisted in them building the company and adding brands to the group. And he owns a certain Mont-Tremblant racetrack now.

So he's had his hands in a number of fashion labels, particularly Tommy Hilfiger but has that translated to motorsport, let alone F1, as a major sponsor? It will be interesting to see how this all works out, with Force India; maybe change the name to Force Tommy for 2019, .

As for Mont-Tremblant, which he bought in 2000, the setting is fabulous but the last major open wheel race, was in the 2007 Champ Car season. IndyCar could definitely do with another Canadian venue, especially with two top Canadian drivers in the Hinchcliffe and Wickens.

[Casper]

Originally Posted by Casper

I have previously said much the same thing on several occasions when there was criticism of him having a seat because of "daddy's money". If Stroll senior had not tipped all that money into F1 there would have been a lot of people out of jobs just now and he went a long way to supporting Williams when they needed it. Apparently attacking Stroll junior buying a seat through Dad's money is seen as a mortal sin in fandom when more likely it is jealousy and the tall poppy syndrome coming to the fore. Let's see what those same people say now.

Edit to a badly written post...

Apparently Stroll junior buying a seat through Dad's money is seen as a mortal sin in fandom

[VIVA GT]

I don't know if you'll be able to see this if you don't subscribe, but here's Autosport's explanation of who's who in the consortium: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13...ed-force-india

[Adam43]

It was a typo, it’s great band leader.

[andrewc]

Stroll Jnr shouldn't have jumped from F3 to F1 - it was too much too soon, and should have gone through the intermediate levels. He's never done very well on his first year a series, coming good the following year - but needs the guidance of an more experienced driver to assist with setting car up.

[S griffin]

Yep, Stroll probably would have done better by doing F2 before F1. Trying to do the leap like Max was too much for him

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Yep, Stroll probably would have done better by doing F2 before F1. Trying to do the leap like Max was too much for him

Max is an exception in that he's one of those once in a generation talents (not the only one of the current crop imo) who can just jump a feeder category without any real difficulty. Mind you he also had the backing from Red Bull to do this, otherwise he would have had to find the money to do GP2.

[justracing]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Yep, Stroll probably would have done better by doing F2 before F1. Trying to do the leap like Max was too much for him

Didn't Jensen Button do the same thing? I remember watching him win the FFord festival at Brands after which he did a few F3 races and then appeared in F1, I think?

[S griffin]

Yes Jenson was the same. I guess it’s easier to say these things in hindsight. Obviously though Frank saw something special in Jenson, as he only finished 3rd in British F3

[Greem]

And don't overlook Raikkonen, who stepped much further from Formula Renault (Eurocup and UK) straight into a Sauber F1 seat.

[S griffin]

Yeah, but don’t forget he was only on a temporary superlicence for the first four races. If he didn’t perform in those first four GPs, he would have lost his licence, probably for good

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Yeah, but don’t forget he was only on a temporary superlicence for the first four races. If he didn’t perform in those first four GPs, he would have lost his licence, probably for good

But the point Greem makes is that those that know, know!

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by Adam43

It was a typo, it’s great band leader.

I keep reading it as... Big Band leader



Richard

[ASCII Man]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Yes Jenson was the same. I guess it’s easier to say these things in hindsight. Obviously though Frank saw something special in Jenson, as he only finished 3rd in British F3

Jenson was only really a stop gap measure for Montoya, to be honest.

[BSchneiderFan]

And yet it was JB who ended up Champion.

[ASCII Man]

I certainly didn't see it in him when he came in, also to be honest.

[S griffin]

Montoya could have been champion also, he had it in him

[E.B]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Montoya could have been champion also, he had it in him

He was good on his day.... just did not have enough days.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by E.B

He was good on his day.... just did not have enough days.

2001, had the BMW engines not blown up all the time, he would have been much closer to Ferrari. A BMW insider once reckoned that they really could have beaten Ferrari had they been upto scratch straight away as the engine was the most powerful by far.

2003 people keep saying it should have been Kimi but when I spoke to Jonny Williams at Thruxton recently, he agreed that title was Juan's but a couple of mechanical issues, a couple of his errors and the Monza Ferrari Michelin stitch up put paid to that!

[S griffin]

He certainly was a lot more consistent than he appeared. Look at 2002. Ferrari dominant, Ralf is the only Williams to win, yet Montoya finishes above him. Yes he made mistakes, but he was always giving it a good go when he did

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

I keep reading it as... Big Band leader



Richard

[E.B]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

I don't know if you'll be able to see this if you don't subscribe, but here's Autosport's explanation of who's who in the consortium: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13...ed-force-india

To me one of the critical (As in important not criticism) aspects of what I have read in that is that Stroll being by far the majority shareholder within the consortium with the others on board as an afterthought to add a bit of billionaire cred for the administrator but also to make it look like a bona fide investment rather than Daddy's (very) early 21st birthday present for Lance.

Stroll is believed to be not just the driving force behind the deal, but also the main investor, with the others putting in much smaller amounts. However, their presence diverts attention from Stroll, who inevitably is sensitive to suggestions he has bought the team purely to further the career of son Lance, rather than as a practical business investment.

[chillibowl]

will Stroll Sr become the new team principle?

Stroll does come across as a serious motorsports enthusiast with a great business pedigree so he would be a great fit.

im also curious to know if the deal with Merc will continue or will Stroll, given his love for Ferrari cars, align the team more with the Scuderia?

i would think he is savvy enough to realize that putting his son in the car will have some serious PR ramifications if not derail his son's career all together.

besides i would imagine he can afford to keep paying the bills at Williams without much stress on his wallet.

[P38 in workshop]

So where will Perez find himself when the dust settles?