Thursday, February 29, 2024, 5:59 a.m
City AM's Matt Hardy caught up with Prodrive and Motorsport UK Chairman David Richards to talk about the quality of “our” Silicon Valley, entry into Formula 1 and the future of motorsport on these shores.
City AM's Matt Hardy caught up with Prodrive and Motorsport UK Chairman David Richards to talk about the quality of “our” Silicon Valley, entry into Formula 1 and the future of motorsport on these shores.
When you compare California's Bay Region, with its millions of residents overheating in the West Coast sun, with the often humid environment of Banbury and surrounding areas, there are few similarities.
The tech labs and data centers of Santa Clara and San Mateo may be better known as Silicon Valley—where the great and the good of the microchip, AI, and metaverse worlds collide in a nerdfest of human progress—but we, too, have a silicon of our own Valley.
Ours, however, covers areas of the Midlands – with an enclave in Woking – and has given the world categories of Formula 1, rallying, Dakar and motorsport as far as the eye can see.
The UK is leading the way in technology that is changing the world, one wheel at a time. But big business will be the first to say that we're not great at bragging rights.
Formula 1 is thriving here
“The new 10-year contract for the British Grand Prix is great news for motorsport here and it has a halo over it all,” David Richards, chairman of engineering firm Prodrive and chairman of Motorsport UK, tells City AM
“Most Formula 1 teams are based here in England, that doesn’t seem to be changing at all. So there's the infrastructure here, there's the technology, there's the employment and the other activities – whether it's sport, car racing, rallying – are based here in the UK.
“And we are still known all over the world today. They see Britain as the center of the world, the epicenter for everything to do with motorsport and the technology of motorsport.
“It's just disappointing that the government often overlooks this and doesn't realize how important it is – apart from some tax cuts for research and development – and how important the reputation we have around the world is.
“We have been leading the world in a development role for many, many years, if not since the existence of Formula 1. And all it takes is a little more recognition. “It’s applause and recognition that will drive the company forward and help more than anything else.”
Entry into the club
Richards' experience in the motorsport world speaks for itself: former chairman of Aston Martin, former team principal of the Formula 1 teams BAR and Benetton, former winner of the World Rally Championship and inductee into the Motorsport Hall of Fame.
And he also has experience trying to break into Formula 1 with a new team, something Andretti recently attempted unsuccessfully.
“The process is quite tricky, not easy and always surrounded by political agendas,” adds Richards.
“When we first tried it with the blessing of the FIA, one of the teams decided it wasn't in their interest to have us there, found a little loophole and delayed everything for us to the point where it was It should be impossible for us to prepare for next season. So they managed to keep us out.
“And the next time we were told in the 11th hour that the only teams that would be accepted were those with Cosworth engines. We tried to break the stranglehold of the manufacturers and ensure that all teams had a customer engine available in case the manufacturers dropped out or went off and did their own thing.
“So behind the scenes there’s always an agenda that you haven’t quite worked out yet, or once you’ve worked it out there’s not much you can do about it.”
Headlines in Formula 1
But Formula 1 has changed significantly in recent weeks, with plenty of stories hitting the headlines ahead of this weekend's season opener in Bahrain.
Hamilton is set to abandon Mercedes for Ferrari, the team's lead roles are on shaky ground and the sport is determined to become ever more entertaining.
“[Motorsport is] “We are currently in a very interesting transition phase,” says Richards.
“In the past, car manufacturers have been the backbone of motorsport programs, following the old adage 'Win on Sunday, sell on Monday', but over the last 20 or 30 years motorsport has evolved in a direction where it has expanded into different sectors has become polarized, and that is increasingly the case in entertainment, with an emphasis on TV packaging.
“But one of the things that has happened with the cost cap for Formula 1 teams and also for my own companies is that we have all taken the opportunity to push alternative programs, whether in aerospace, alternative materials with composite materials or the support of Mercedes.” Ben Ainslee at the America's Cup.
“We all have these fringe teams out there now developing a whole range of technologies that really benefit motorsport.”
Banbury, Milton Keynes, Woking, Brackley and other picturesque towns across England may not have the hustle and bustle of California, but they quietly go about their business and lead the international market in motorsports and engineering.
And if we shout too loudly, the tech giants in the Golden State might want a piece of the action. So perhaps we should quietly be proud of our achievements, in the good old-fashioned British way, and enjoy them. What kind of idea would that be?
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