New Management at Force India Brings New Hope

SÃO PAULO, Brazil - Lawrence Stroll stated that he believes he can achieve a rare Formula 1 company by turning one of his teams into a profitable company.

On August 7, a Canadian billionaire, Stroll, accompanied by a consortium of his "close and close business friends," rescued Force India after being appointed to the administration on July 27. This is to protect the team against the threat of a winding-up order due to increasing debts.

The Stroll Group was supposed to "present a very credible offer to save the company and restore solvency," said Geoff Rowley, co-director of FRP Advisory based in London.

Walk - who made his fortune with retail investments, including Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors, whose son, Lance, has driven to Williams in the last two seasons and will be joining Force India next season - says he is already interested in becoming a team owner.

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"I always thought that Formula 1 was a sport in which you had to be a great producer, such as Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, to justify the costs necessary for it to function properly," Stroll said in an interview.

"From a purely commercial point of view, there is no team that makes a profit that is comparable to a traditional company. It is more a producer game or a marketing exercise, such as a soft drink company or a man's trophy. I have never really fallen into one of these categories.
"Although I am a big fan of the sport, a big fan of the sport and of course a big fan since my son was a pilot, I never really hoped to own a team and want one. But in simple terms it is was a phenomenal business opportunity. "

Stroll said his team "weighed heavier" for many years. He finished fourth in the constructors' championship in 2016 and 2017, representing only a third of the budget and less than half of the staff of the following three teams: Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

"If this team were to run for the last time, it wouldn't work," Stroll said. "It is thanks to their performance, their budgets, that this opportunity has been exploited.

"I am not for myself. I am not here to lose money. I work in the long term, like all the other companies I own, whether it is Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors or anyone else." .