Stroll: I never planned to buy an F1 team

Decades of uncertainty look set to make way for stability and even prosperity as the Canadian billionaire aims to make Racing Point a proper force in Formula 1.

Much has been written about how Stroll senior bankrolled his son Lance's career into Formula 1, and how things went south with Williams when the team delivered a lemon of a car.

Force India, on the verge of bankruptcy, became his target and along with his billionaire mates formed a syndicate under the Racing Point umbrella and saved the operation during the summer break.

With Lance confirmed alongside Sergio Perez the team is now safe from oblivion and free of the Vijay Mallya era.

In an interview with the official F1 website, Stroll opened up on the venture, “I never planned to buy an F1 team.”

“The reason it interested myself and my consortium of investors was because this is a phenomenally special team. To be fourth in 2016 and 2017 – and last year I think they would have also been fourth without the interruption of the shareholding – in this unbelievably competitive environment speaks volumes about the staff working in this very special place."

“These guys have been spending less and performing better. I looked at it as a business opportunity, coupling that with spending time speaking to F1 to understand their vision from 2021, which is some sort of budget cap and some sort of a better revenue distribution to the smaller teams."

“That makes great business sense for a company like this, as this is the model of direction closer to where the future will go. I’ve been around the sport for 30 years. There’s only 10 teams and if you look at the value of the franchise, whether it be NFL, UK rugby or football, the value of an asset like this, treated properly, cherished over time significantly appreciates. I think the same thing will happen here.”

With the disappointment and wasted money with Williams, Stroll has taken his passion for the sport and his son's interest to the highest level possible at the notoriously expensive pinnacle of it all.

Stroll explained, “I will be very involved. The plan is number one: Nothing is broke here so you don’t need to fix it. It already has great leadership and management in the team. They have been doing this for a long time and doing a great job. So it’s about supporting them. Number two - it’s about putting financial stability in place.”

“Short-term, we want to stay fighting where we are. Medium term, we want to try and fight for third, instead of fourth. Long term, when all the rules, change, hopefully we will be one of the greatest teams in the paddock,” added Stroll who in 2018 Forbes listed in on the list of the world's billionaires, he was ranked #887 with a net worth of $2.7 billion (€2.4 billion).

https://www.grandprix247.com/2018/11/30/lawrence-stroll-hopefully-we-can-fight-for-that-third-place/