Manor saved and primed for Formula 1 return

Fitzpatrick is a 37-year-old Northern Irishman who founded Bristol-based energy company Ovo in 2009, the primary rival to the ‘big six’ of British Gas, Npower, SSE, Scottish Power, E.On and EDF.

Main investor Fitzpatrick has been assisted in the rescue package by Justin King, the former CEO of supermarket giant Sainsbury, who will initially serve as interim chairman.

The team, formerly known as Marussia that went into administration at the end of October and missed the final three races of last season, will continue to be run by sporting director Graeme Lowdon and team principal John Booth.

Manor has been preparing their cars at their old base in Dinnington, South Yorkshire, which comply fully with the 2015 regulations.

Lowdon claims the cars, which are being crash tested this week, are “a new concept of car with a very high degree of carry over (from 2014), with a lot of safety upgrades for 2015”.

But the team will definitely be heading to Melbourne for the first race on March 13-15, with the majority of the freight on its way to Albert Park on Friday.

Fitzpatrick, who previously worked as an investment banker at JP Morgan, concedes when he first approached Lowdon the team’s cause appeared “almost hopeless”.

Fitzpatrick added: “It was one of those situations that needed more time to understand everything, so it seemed too late, with no realistic possibility of reviving the team.

“But it was ironic that after making it through a hard first five years, claiming ninth in last year’s championship and reaching the first rung of financial stability - if there is such a thing in Formula One - and then running out of steam, it seemed like too good a story to end there.

“So I looked to see if there was a way to help this team cling to life, to survival.

“After speaking to Graeme, who was very straightforward and we had some frank discussions, there was just one long list of challenges, top of which was to re-establish credibility with the main suppliers, like Ferrari.

“It was a very complex landscape, with a lot of legal and financial challenges, and now in 10 days’ time we will be in Melbourne with a solid business platform on which to operate.

“For me, Justin has been a huge help in navigating the landmines, especially as this is the first company I’ve bought.”

King has confirmed he is only on board in an interim basis and that he will assist in looking for a full-time chairman before taking on a non-executive directorship.

King said: “I know from the years I spent at Sainsbury’s that with the right people, right values and sheer hard work, you can turn any business around.

“In Graeme and John we have all three and I’m fully confident we can help Manor be competitive at the highest level of racing.”

Lowdon concedes people will be unaware of the hurdles that have had to be cleared over the past few months in order for the team to be on the brink of racing again when it seemed they would fold.

Lowdon and Booth have moved heaven and earth to ensure the marque would continue in F1, holding numerous negotiations, notably with the long list of creditors owed a combined total of £60million.

It resulted in deals being struck and Manor obtaining a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) on February 19, allowing them to exit administration and press ahead with plans to return to the grid.

Power-unit supplier Ferrari, the main creditor owed £16.5m, was one of the key players in Manor’s ability to acquire the CVA.

“The last few months have been a bit of a rollercoaster,” said Lowdon.

“It’s important to say in getting back to racing we’ve had a huge amount of support from the FIA, FOM, Bernie (Ecclestone), our suppliers, partners and staff, with many of them back on board.

“I have to pay particular thanks to Stephen who has a passion for the sport, but what really struck me is that he also has a passion for business challenges.

“He is driven by solving problems, and I’ve been incredibly impressed by his ability in doing that. This team would not have been saved without his input.”

Manor confirmed last week young Briton Will Stevens as one of their drivers, with the 23-year-old given a taste of F1 in the final race of last season in Abu Dhabi when he drove for Caterham in their bid to emerge from their own administrative process.

No announcement has been made yet as to the second driver.