Former Force India deputy team boss Bob Fernley has died aged 70.
The Briton had a long history in motorsport management in both Formula 1 and the US-based IndyCar series.
He was well known for running Force India for its owner, the controversial businessman Vijay Mallya, for a decade after his acquisition of the team.
Fernley was most recently the head of motorsport governing body the FIA’s single-seater commission from 2020-22.
A popular and jovial character, Fernley’s job title at Force India was deputy team principal. But as Mallya rarely attended races, Fernley was the man in de facto charge at most grands prix.
And in the team’s latter years Mallya was able to attend only one race a year – the British Grand Prix – as he was under criminal investigation by the Indian authorities for financial irregularities and unable to leave the UK.
Under Fernley’s stewardship, Force India carved a reputation for over-achieving despite its limited financial resources.
He oversaw podium finishes for Giancarlo Fisichella at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix, and for Sergio Perez in Bahrain in 2014, Russia in 2015, the Monaco and European Grands Prix in 2016 and the 2018 Azerbaijan race.
Fernley left the team when it was sold to the Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll in August 2018.
Stroll changed the team’s name first to Racing Point and since 2021 it has raced as Aston Martin.
Fernley’s long career included the now-defunct Ensign F1 team and several outfits in the US-based Indycar and CanAm series.
He had a long association with Mallya, who brought him in when he purchased what was then known as the Spyker team in 2007. The team first came into existence as Jordan in 1991 and is still based at the same Silverstone site, where a new factory has been finished this month.
After Stroll’s buy-out, Fernley moved to McLaren to run their Indycar project in 2019.
But his stewardship was not a success and, after Fernando Alonso failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 that year, Fernley was dismissed.
F1 chairman and chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali said in tribute to Fernley: “I am saddened to hear the news that Bob Fernley has passed away. He was such an important part of F1 and his love and passion for the sport will live forever. My thoughts are with his family and friends at this very sad time.”
