Racing Lines: Whitmarsh is back where he belongs

Since leaving McLaren, his highest-profile role was CEO of Sir Ben Ainslie’s Ineos America’s Cup sailing team, but the 63-year-old was far from forgotten in F1 circles. Hamilton called on him to join his commission that looked into the lack of representation of ethnic minorities in the British motorsport industry, and previous to that Whitmarsh admitted that he had come close to leading a Maserati return to F1 as the new front for Sauber before Luca di Montezemolo fell from power as president of Ferrari.

More recently, he revealed that he had been sounded out about a team principal role, so his F1 return isn’t exactly out of the blue, especially in the context of the way that he answered our question.

One last hurrah

“Do I still love F1? Yes,” he said. “Did I have a great time? Yes. Someone approached me quite recently, but initially I decided to stay out. I’m quite a strange, loyal person and just didn’t want to race against McLaren. I thought [how I left] was sad and I still do, then I got angry about it. But I’m very lucky. I’m not enormously wealthy, but I’m wealthy enough to do what I like. You have flashes of it all, the adrenaline. I did the America’s Cup solely because I missed the adrenaline of race day, and it gave me that, but not quite to the same intensity.

“Never say never. I’m still relatively young and fit. I’ve freed myself up, so I don’t hold any executive positions. So there is a bit of a hankering for one last hurrah. Then again, maybe it would be sad to go back...”

Whitmarsh worked at McLaren during what he considers golden eras for F1. Aston Martin presumably represents the “something extraordinary” he told us would be needed to lure him back – but whether it can match what he had before remains to be seen.

What Aston Martin gains is a man of high integrity and experience who was always great at seeing the bigger picture. He served a term as president of the now defunct Formula 1 Teams Association, representing collective interests in discussions and negotiations with commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA.

He has also been credited for encouraging Mercedes to supply engines to Brawn GP, the team that grew out of Honda when it quit F1 after the 2008 season. Brawn dramatically won the 2009 title as McLaren struggled and then morphed into the Mercedes-AMG super-team we know today. Whitmarsh’s part in that story, which helped save a team and hundreds of jobs, infuriated Dennis and turned out to be the beginning of the end of his time at McLaren. He deserved better. Now at Aston Martin, he might get it.

Praga plans step-up

Pure ambition is also driving another good-news story in UK motorsport. Praga, a Czech company with a rich heritage in the automotive industry and far beyond, is stepping up its expansion on the British racing scene with a one-make series next year. In the wake of establishing a new UK headquarters in Cheshire, the firm has now confirmed that its series will go ahead in partnership with the Britcar Endurance series.

Nine of Praga’s rapid and attractive R1s have graced Britcar grids this season, and it now feels ready to take the next step, committing to ensure at least 16 will line up for a six-round series starting at Silverstone next March. Like Whitmarsh, Praga Cars UK managing director Mark Harrison is an ex-McLaren man who now finds himself driven to make a very different contribution to motorsport. He reports “increased interest from drivers, teams and potential sponsors” after a strong Britcar campaign overseen by VR Motorsport.