By: Mike Sullivan/RaceCanada.ca (Photo-Perry Blocher/RaceCanada.ca)
February 14 2019
For us, the 2019 Canadian International Auto Show was all about one thing, the first ever Formula 1 team launch in North America. The newly named SportPesa Racing Point F1 team, owned in part by Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll, had decided to launch the car in Canada, and as the opening act for this year's Canadian International Auto Show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Hosted by F1 personality and lead Sky Sports commentator David Croft, the launch was a lively, often humorous affair, aided by the brilliant idea to invite 500 fans to the launch, giving it much more life than a rather sedate group of journalists ever could.
On the commercial side, the team has added a number of new sponsors for 2019, most notably of course SportPesa as the new team name indicates, but also Canadian companies Bombardier and Canada Life.
The 2019 car has kept the bulk of it's signature pink livery, while adding a swath of blue on the engine cover that works well for new lead sponsor, SportPesa, an online sports betting portal.
From a technical standpoint, a couple of things were noted. First, while the new front wing regulations are upper most on everybody's mind, nobody seems to be too sure if it will accomplish it's stated goal of increasing overtaking.
Second, because of the influx of new sponsors and capital the team will show up to the opening race of the season with all of their testing updates and modifications in place and ready to race. This hasn't been the case for the last few years, and as a result the team was playing catch up from early on each season.
While Canadian Lance Stroll is new to the team, his team mater Sergio Perez is not, having joined the team, then known as Sahara Force India, for the 2014 season and has driven almost 100 Grands Prix for the team. The dynamic between the 2 drivers will prove interesting. Perez and 2018 team mate Estaban Ocan seemed to have more than an occasional run-in on the track, and Stroll will certainly be wanting to prove his pace against his more experienced team mate. This might be the inter-team rivalry to watch in 2019.
The teams often-stated goal is 4th place in the championship, conceding that it's going to be almost impossible to compete with the top 3, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. They'll be in tough, as Renault, Haas and maybe even McLaren should all push hard for the “best of the rest” position.
This wasn't referred to as a new chapter in the history of the team that started out life in 1991 as Jordan F1, but as a new book.
While the team has new, Canadian-dominant ownership, it's not the first time the team formerly known as Jordan has been in Canadian(ish) hands. Jordan sold the team in 2005, shortly after securing a Toyota engine deal, to Midland F1 but continued for the 2005 season as Jordan F1. The following year, the team was renamed to Midland F1 and while registered as Russian, it's owner was Russian-born Canadian entrepreneur Alex Shnaider.
Midland F1 didn't last long, competing for only 1 season as Midland before being sold for a tidy profit to Spyker Cars for the following season. The Spyker name also lasted only a season, 2007, and from 2008 the team competed as Force India until it's purchase part way through last season by the current ownership group.
The team has a long, proud history, and, as Jordan F1, is known as the team that gave Michael Schumacher his start in F1, and for one fielding one of the most beautiful F1 cars, at least in my opinion, the 1991 7Up Jordan. 2019 is a new start, with as much optimism as the team has had in years, and more than a little Canadian content for Canadians to cheer for this season.
This was a good day for Canadian F1 fans.
