High junior single-seater outfit Hitech GP is the newest workforce to declare their intention to hitch the Formulation 1 grid in 2026.
They doubled up yesterday’s announcement of their plans with information of main new funding within the workforce. However does that plus the workforce’s racing pedigree mark it out as being worthy of the coveted eleventh slot on the grid?
Based by Oliver Oakes in 2015, it not less than the third workforce to make use of the identify ‘Hitech’. The previous racer obtained permission to make use of the identify from David Hayle, who launched the unique Hitech Racing workforce in 2003 to race in British Formulation 3, and knew Oakes as a World Karting Championship-winning teenager. One other Hitech squad raced in Brazilian F3, however Oakes introduced the identify again to European competitors when he was simply 27.
Oakes’ entity was additionally launched with the intention of competing in F3, and made its first appearances in 2015 on the finish of the European championship season.
Hitech have remained in F3 ever since, and expanded into Formulation Regional in 2018, Formulation 2 and GB3 in 2020 and Formulation 4 final yr. If their F1 entry bid is profitable, and so they proceed their present programmes, then Hitech can be the one grand prix workforce on the earth to even be current at each main tier of junior single-seater racing.
Proper now Hitech run junior drivers from Pink Bull, Alpine and Williams, and race within the F1 assist paddock at 13 of this yr’s occasions (14 earlier than Imola’s cancellation) so Oakes and his workforce are already acquainted to key FIA figures, everlasting members of race management (though F2 and F3 have a special race director to F1) and might be seen by the entire paddock on the rostrum steadily.
Since becoming a member of F2, Hitech have gained 10 races and picked up 21 different podium ends in three-and-a-half seasons. Within the FIA F3 Championship they’ve gained 12 occasions and made the rostrum 15 additional occasions. Mercedes F1 driver George Russell, IndyCar champion Alex Palou, Tremendous Formulation title contender Liam Lawson, rising IndyCar stars Marcus Armstrong and Rinus VeeKay, plus McLaren Formulation E driver Jake Hughes and his NIO rival Dan Ticktum are amongst these to have handed via Hitech’s doorways.
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Second place within the 2019 F3 groups’ standings is the workforce’s finest end-of-year place from its time within the second and third tier of single-seaters, and it has racked up a number of titles on the rung beneath in FRegional.
Like fellow aspiring F1 entrants Andretti Autosport, it’s the present single-seater pedigree that Hitech wish to level in direction of as to why they’re prepared for F1. However all of these wins and titles had been in spec sequence, Hitech has not beforehand been concerned in automotive design or manufacturing and that doesn’t come low-cost. As Williams workforce principal James Vowles just lately instructed RaceFans, even present F1 outfits corresponding to his face nine-figure payments to develop their infrastructure to the identical normal as latest world champions.
Nevertheless Oakes’ squad has arrange the sister Hitech Applied sciences firm, which is a step in direction of attaining manufacturing independence, and is scooping up experience from elsewhere. A mannequin many main junior single-seater groups use now, to various levels, is to set themselves up as consultancy corporations the place their workforce members go off to supply their providers, selecting up completely different however helpful expertise in different types of motorsport and ultimately bringing it again.
In Hitech’s case, the incoming information goes in direction of ‘Hitech 26’, a bunch of individuals employed solely for the F1 entry venture, a number of of whom who got here to Hitech from Pink Bull and have already been working of their present roles for 13 months. These embody aerodynamicists, mannequin designers and makers for wind tunnel work, CFD consultants, design and stress engineers, and a head of analysis and improvement.
Within the announcement of their deliberate F1 entry, Hitech confirmed the workforce was not full owned by Oakes following the sale of a minority stake to Kazakhstani billionaire Vladimir Kim, who made a lot of his wealth in his nation’s mining business.
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Publicising his arrival similtaneously the F1 plan signifies Hitech now have the cash to afford the F1 entry (which rivals the capital prices with an anti-dilution price of $200 million to be let in to F1), and shopping for shares is a larger dedication to a workforce than sponsorship. However the arrival of main new buyers can show disruptive for groups – regardless of how established they’re – if cash talks over paddock expertise within the decision-making course of.
As all the time with monetary preparations that aren’t tied to a time restrict or a assured annual sum of cash, there’s nothing to cease the scope of funding lowering year-by-year too if the returns don’t look worthwhile. However Hitech is used to working with rich people via earlier shareholding, as the daddy of Russian former F1 racer Nikita Mazepin had possession within the workforce whereas his son raced there. His shareholding was reclaimed by Oakes early final yr as Russia was hit by sanctions – though Oakes denies that factored in to his taking again full possession of Hitech.
Hitech didn’t identify an influence unit accomplice of their announcement yesterday however Oakes has loads of contacts within the F1 paddock and is especially shut with Pink Bull motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko. That relationship started when Oakes was a Pink Bull junior himself in his first years racing vehicles within the late 2000s.
After two years throughout Formulation BMW and Formulation Renault 2.0, with just one win to indicate for it, he misplaced his Pink Bull backing. He was nonetheless in a position to step as much as GP3 (the predecessor to FIA F3) in 2010, however ended the yr with out a level.
Oakes subsequently modified tack and adopted the well-worn path of those that put aside their hopes of reaching F1 as drivers and as a substitute went into workforce administration. The likes of Christian Horner and Toto Wolff are simply the 2 most up-to-date profitable examples of the sort. Whether or not Oakes will get the chance to compete alongside them, and by doing so reveal it’s attainable for junior groups in addition to drivers to graduate to F1, is as much as the sequence and the FIA to resolve.
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