Ferrari’s former director of engineering Pat Fry is to work with Manor as the team builds up for a stronger challenge in F1 in 2016. Fry is an F1 veteran with experience dating back to 1987, when he was first hired by Benetton to develop active suspension systems. Prior to that he was employed in the missile industry with Thorn EMI. He had several different roles with Benetton, including race engineer to Martin Brundle in 1992. He then followed his former colleague Giorgio Ascanelli to McLaren, initially working on active suspensions but then as race engineer with Mika Häkkinen and later David Coulthard. He was then promoted to Chief Engineer of Race Development and later switched to leading the design teams of the MP4-20, MP4-22 and MP4-24 chassis. In 2010 he moved to Ferrari as assistant technical director and then head of race track engineering as well. He was then made director of chassis, reporting directly to Stefano Domenicali. The shifting sands of politics in Maranello meant that by 2013 Lotus technical director James Allison had been hired and Fry then became director of engineering before leaving at the end of the 2014. He has spent the last year on gardening leave.
“We are extremely fortunate to have Pat on board to help us hit the ground running with our exciting new technical package,” said Dave Ryan, Racing Director of Manor. “The aim is to bring performance to the car with effect from the Barcelona tests, then translate that to the race track in Melbourne, to ensure we make the strongest possible start to 2016 and have a good basis for development in the early part of the season.”
joeblogsf1 
For Fry I guess it’s a bit of a step down after years at McLaren and then Ferrari. On the other hand, the job will be more about the car development and less about Ferrari internal power struggles
Manor really are hiring some big names – it will be interesting to see who ends up driving the cars….
Manor are building a nice group of people.
This appointment must be costing Mr Fitzpatrick a few quid. The team appears to on the rise but I’m concerned it’s not going to be sustainable in the medium term unless the aformentioned owner procures some decent sponsorship or the team suddenly starts getting good points finishes.
His experience with missiles should propel the team to greater heights
Don’t knock it. He’s not allowed to say what he did in the missile world, which tells you that he was probably quite good at it.
Who knows the Pat Fry story except the man himself? After Robin Herd (March founder) worked on Concorde, he confessed that few bits he designed ever flew. It was likely one of his motivations to design for motor sport.
I have doubts about the individual contributions of “star” engineers in F1. However Manor seem to be assembling a bunch of experienced engineers so success will depend on how well they rub together. Good luck.
An old friend of mine was a rocket designer…
I’ve met a few who you fret about when they cross the road, others who slice you by their perspicacity.
NASA generously dropped some of the ashes of a former work mate into space from a Shuttle. Space scientists can be sentimental.
Yeah, but it’s not exactly brain surgery, is it?
When you meet somebody like a rocket scientist, you feel a bit shit and strive to be modest.
No, it just tells you he had to sign the Official Secrets Act as I and many thousands of others who have worked for military equipment suppliers have done.
I do know what I am doing…
Have you asked ‘er indoors?
Brilliant news.
The fragmented but talented fallout from teams at the top end of the grid are coalescing at Manor. Easy for hopes to rise too far but they have a great opportunity at least, hope they have the budget to capitalise on that talent.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Manor is trying to sign Alonso and Massa!
😉
Not about Pat Fry so a tad off topic Joe, but I see quotes from Alex Wurz regarding cockpit protection and tyres today.
He claims the GPDA would like Halo protection devices for the cockpits, and having seen a mock up, i personally think these look really dreadful, although i’m all for driver protection.
I think there ought to be a way of designing the cockpit area as sweeping up and around the driver with a clear deflector on all sides, which would have to be of an exceptionally strong material, but would have the added benefit of exposing more driver movement to the public?? Alternatively, what about an all enclosed cockpit, again, made of clear materials??
The other, and big point, he made over tyres, was that the GPDA are fed up with the type of tyre Pirelli is making. Wurz claims that compared with 2009, the cars are as much as 30 mph slower in corners, and that F1 drivers are no longer physically extended by the race experience.
Now, i’ve guessed that for a long time, for one, it is apparently so easy for any kid to rock up and score points continuously, and for another when was the last time that you, or any of us, can recall any driver looking at all exhausted after a race? And these guys don’t look as fit as Schuey or Mansell ever did, not as i can see.
Mostly they look like they’ve been to the Supermarket for the afternoon, trollied around there for 2 hours, and then been stuck in a traffic jam on the way back!
It maybe F1 racing, but for me, it ain’t Gran Prix!
Hello Damian, the Idea of the Halo solution is to give a relatively good protection (with relatively wide and therefore sturdy the “ring” above the driver) while at the same time allowing easy extraction of the driver (large issue with closed cockpits) and minimal interference with driver view (distortion of view from being curved, dirt buildup and visibility in the wet are bad) – the middle of the nose is not really an issue, the sides are where drivers look when turning in.
As for drivers not being exhausted anymore, if we take Mansell as an example, fitness of the drivers has made an enormous step since then, all drivers are far fitter than he probably ever managed. Also nowadays they have actual rather relible drinks systems too, which helps against dehydration.
Now, that does not mean that physcially the current cars might be easier to drive. On the other hand the engineers and all the adjustable things keep the drivers busy mentally.
Joe,
What’s going on at Manor?! Isn’t it a little late to try optimize “ad absurdum” around the new power train, to surprize us all – or do they look at 2017- 2020, ow that the V6 is confirmed?
You did not seem to want to analyze the ongoing grey substance collection in detail yet…Any thoughts, or at least a gut feeling?
It would be, as always, very much appreciated!
Thanks in advance.
They are building a better car, with the best brains they can get their hands on.
The better-best brains command better-best pay packets.
I’ll be impressed when they land some big time sponsorship to pay for all this.
Regardless I’ll be cheering them on, hopefully we will see some spirited competition between Haas-Manor-Sauber to dodge last place honors.
A little bit too late to improve the car? Teams improve cars all year with incremental upgrades, so if the Manor 2016 basic concept is not a disaster (something overly exotic or unable to take the latest tweaks) it makes sense to employ talented people.
Best wishes to the team.
Pat is too late arriving to affect this year’s chassis/monocoque design, but his arrival is very good news for Manor, but he is a year behind. Still they seem to be collecting people with a proven record. Who knows maybe Manor will be the surprise of the year.
Although we probably won’t specifically know why the two principles at Manor left, the team seems to be hiring solid engineers with good track records.
However, the problem is that these guys have come on board so late that they will have no chance to influence the basic design of the 2016 car. If it’s a dog, they can only give its coat a shine and maybe clip its paws.
Having survived so far Manor seem to have a chance of moving up the grid, albeit maybe not far, with their new car, but presumably nearly everyone else have also improved their packages.
If they are successful, John Booth and Graham Lowden must have mixed feelings, happy that the team they nurtured through the last two years is doing better, but frustrated they are no longer part of the dream.
That quotation on the end there! Such a good “ready made” off the peg quote that any team personnel can spout to journalists. Ferrari can use the same words with Jock Clear in place of Pat Fry.
If only F1 could do away with off the peg quotes. Never happen I guess. Media folk keep telling us that is what we like to hear from drivers and teams……
[Isn’t there a supermarket somewhere that sells these by the kilo]
There seems to be quite a bit of cash sloshing around at Manor, I truly hope this is real cash and the team is not building on too many debts.
Any insight as to why Booth & Louden left as they seem to be well respected ?
They did not share the same vision for the team as the owner. What that means is another story…
That is the story we would like you to unearth , if that’s possible without de stabilising the team. To the ongoing credit of Booth & Louden they have kept schtum and there has been no public muck raking. I would still like to know where the cash is coming from though.
My suspicion, and that’s all it is, is that that after dragging the phoenix out of the ashes the legacy team wanted to build slowly keeping finances in check
I hope I am wrong but I suspect a big debt is being built up somewhere.
Maybe my long held aversion to debt is why I am an employee and not a flamboyant entrepreneur….
Keep digging Joe 😀
From what Joe writes one could get the impression he knows, but maybe he’s not allowed to tell. “Off the record” or keeping your sources safe/willing to continue to trust you.
Or maybe he doesn’t know…
If someone says that the decisions made are private, I respect that. It’s simple. I didn’t even ask.
For a team looking to advance up the grid taking on Fry is puzzling. Reflecting on his performance at Ferrari it’s doubtful that he will bring performance to Manor. But we will see.
do people on gardening leave still get paid ?
Yes, otherwise they would walk
As Joe mentioned, the employer (the team) paying the employee (or partner) who wants to leave is the whole point of the thing.
If the team would not want to pay, then the employee can go immediately and take his knowledge (including some insights in the team’s latest projects) with him and work elsewhere using all their experience (without taking things like drawings that are IP with them off course).
This is an example of how fast-paced F1 is today. A year ago all these additions to the team was just unthinkable. Seems like this is going to be the one team to watch in 2016!
Amazing that a team which seems to be living on a financial shoestring, is getting all these experienced people. Perhaps they already decided on their (pay) drivers and start spending? It will be interesting to see where they land this year. My educated guess for the team to finish last this season would be either Sauber or Haas, but then again, surprises happen in F1…
I’m really looking forward to seeing how they progress.
Right now, it seems that their progress (if any) may be the most exciting aspect of the 2016 season.
I have my fingers crossed.
Lots of talented individuals there now. I hope there is someone with the ability to pull them into an effective team.
I suspect strong lobbying from Dave Ryan to get Pat Fry in at Manor with their years of service at McLaren they will form an instantly strong partnership
My (uninformed) gut says that this looks like a valuation ramp: new tech deal, new staff, look for a buyer. Hiring talent this late ensures that, if the 2016 car isn’t brilliant, the new staff’s track records point to a brighter future.
If that brings new money and stability to the team, it won’t be a bad thing, but the timing is indeed interesting.
It is called building a team…
Manor seem to be building nicely and i’m excited to see how they go this year. People keep asking how they can afford these ‘good’ people but maybe they are offering equity in the team just like an early stage tech start up might operate? It allows them to get good people in who can help them move up the constructors championship by 2 spots and in to regular money. They don’t necessarily need to pay the ‘going rate’ up front for the expertise plus these key people have a more vested interest in the teams success. When the owners exit everyone does well out of it. Looking at the maths I don’t think there is much ‘real’ debt at the team.
Dear Joe, all
This has the makings of a great story across the next couple of seasons. Mercedes PU, technical talent who have previously worked at far bigger teams. The one burning question- where is the money coming from?
Let’s hope that they are successful.
Cheers
Mark R
All fine and well, but unfortunately gossip says that they are seriously going to hire Haryanto as one of their drivers. A sad story: They would have had all the requirements to perform quite well in 2016, but all their efforts now are menaced by their need of The Fast Buck, due to a driver who has been struggling even in GP2. Magnussen? Stevens? Rossi? No, talent isn´t enough. Hail to CVC and Bernie Ecclestone with their money rip-off, which does more damage to F1 than every Paragraph of the TEchnical Regulations. Is that necessary?? I was looking happily forward to a strong Manor performance that year, but now I am only pissed…
I suspect Pat Fry decision was helped knowing Dave Ryan would be there – they get on well.