Pat Fry

Last updated

Pat Fry
Allison fry 2014 (cropped).jpg
Fry in 2014
Born (1964-03-17) 17 March 1964 (age 59)
Nationality Flag of the United Kingdom.svg British

Pat Fry (born 17 March 1964) is a British motorsports engineer. Primarily working in Formula One, he has previously held positions with the Benetton, McLaren, Ferrari, Manor Racing, and Renault/Apline teams. As of 2023, Fry is the chief technical officer for Williams Grand Prix Engineering.

Contents

Early career

Fry was born in Shepperton, Surrey, England. After attempting several engineering courses, he became an apprentice at Thorn EMI in 1981. While at Thorn EMI, he completed a day-release course in electronics at the City of London Polytechnic. He moved onto Thorn's missile programmes, before deciding to leave the company in 1987 to pursue a career in motorsport.

Motorsports career

Benetton (1987–1993)

Fry had an interest in building suspension systems for motorbikes in his spare time, and joined the Benetton Formula's research and development department in Witney, Oxfordshire, who at the time were working on active suspension systems. [1] He moved to the test team and then to the team's Godalming research and development department. He returned to the test team in 1991, before being made Martin Brundle's race engineer in 1992.

McLaren (1993–2010)

In 1993, former Benetton colleague Giorgio Ascanelli persuaded Fry to join him at McLaren. His initial position was to work on active suspension systems, and run the McLaren test team; active suspension systems were banned by the sports governing body before the start of the 1994 season and so Fry moved to an engineering position in the race team. [2] After a season as Mika Häkkinen's race engineer in 1995, he returned to the McLaren test team in 1996 despite rumours linking him with a move to Ferrari. [3] He renewed his contract with McLaren in 1997 to become David Coulthard's race engineer, a role he held for four years. He moved to a tactical coordinating role in 2001, overseeing both the team's race cars. [4] [5] In 2002, he was promoted to the role of chief engineer of race development, and was responsible for the MP4-20 ( Autosport 's 2005 Racing Car of the Year), MP4-22 (Autosport's 2007 Racing Car of the Year), and MP4-24 chassis. On 14 May 2010, Fry departed from McLaren. [6]

Ferrari (2010–2014)

On 22 June 2010, it was annoucned that Fry was to join the Ferrari team as assistant technical director from 1 July. [7] On 4 January 2011, Ferrari announced that Fry had replaced Chris Dyer as head of race track engineering while retaining his assistant technical director position under Aldo Costa. [8] The change was made following a tactical error in the final race of the 2010 season, the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which cost Fernando Alonso a chance at the title. [9] On 24 May 2011, Costa was moved to an undefined position within the team and Fry was given the job as director of chassis, with the position of technical director being removed outright. Restructuring of Ferrari management made Fry's position one of three—the others being production director (filled by Corrado Lanzone) and electronics director (filled by Luca Marmorini)--to report directly to team boss Stefano Domenicali, who assumed the duties (if not the title) of technical director. On 23 July 2013, Ferrari announced that Lotus technical director James Allison would take over as chassis technical director as of 1 September; Fry remained with Ferrari as director of engineering (a newly created position) and continue to report directly to Domenicali alongside Allison and chief designer Nikolas Tombazis. [10] Ferrari said Fry would leave the team in a restructuring announced 16 December 2014. [11] [12]

Manor Racing (2016–2017)

In January 2016, Fry joined Manor Racing as engineering consultant. [13]

McLaren (2018–2019)

On 4 September 2018, McLaren announced Fry would join the team as engineering director in a temporary capacity while awaiting the arrival of full-time technical director James Key from gardening leave at Toro Rosso. Fry led the team in the process of developing the 2019 car, the McLaren MCL34. [14] In July 2019, it was reported Fry had gone on gardening leave at the culmination of his temporary assignment. [15]

Renault/Alpine (2020–2023)

On 2 November 2019, the Renault F1 Team announced that Fry would join the team for the 2020 season. [16] Renault F1 Team was rebranded as Alpine F1 Team for the 2021 season. Before the 2022 season, Alpine named Fry as their chief technical officer. He oversaw all technical activities, set performance targets, and identified future technologies for the car. [17] At the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix, it was announced that Fry would be leaving Alpine to join Williams as their chief technical officer. [18]

Personal life

On 20 April 2002, Fry married Kate Habershon, a food editor and stylist who had worked in motorsport catering. [19]

Related Research Articles

McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team and the second most successful Formula One team after Ferrari, having won 183 races, 12 Drivers' Championships and 8 Constructors' Championships. McLaren also has a history of competing in American open wheel racing, as both an entrant and a chassis constructor, and has won the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) sports car racing championship. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williams Grand Prix Engineering</span> British Formula One motor racing team and constructor

Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One team and constructor. It was founded by Sir Frank Williams (1942–2021) and Sir Patrick Head. The team was formed in 1977 after Frank Williams's earlier unsuccessful F1 operation: Frank Williams Racing Cars. The team is based in Grove, Oxfordshire, on a 60-acre (24 ha) site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renault in Formula One</span> Formula One activities of Renault

Renault, a French automobile manufacturer, has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine to Formula One with its EF1 engine. In 1983, Renault began supplying engines to other teams. Although the Renault team had won races, it withdrew at the end of 1985. Renault engines continued to be raced until 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Brawn</span> British automotive engineer (born 1954)

Ross James Brawn is a British Formula One managing director, motor sports and technical director. He is a former motorsport engineer and Formula One team principal, and has worked for a number of Formula One teams. Teams with Brawn in an essential role have won eight constructors' championships and eight drivers' championships in total. Serving as the technical director of the championship-winning Benetton and Ferrari teams, he earned fame as the "mastermind" behind Michael Schumacher's seven world championship titles. He took a sabbatical in 2007 and returned to F1 for the 2008 season as team principal of Honda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 Formula One World Championship</span> 56th season of FIA Formula One motor racing

The 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 56th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2002 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 2002 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a seventeen-race series that commenced on 3 March and ended on 13 October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Newey</span> British engineer and car designer (born 1958)

Adrian Martin Newey, is a British Formula One engineer. He is the chief technical officer of the Red Bull Racing F1 team. Newey has worked in both Formula One and IndyCar racing as a race engineer, aerodynamicist, designer, and technical director; he has enjoyed success in both categories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Symonds</span> British motorsport engineer (born 1953)

Patrick Bruce Reith Symonds is a British motor racing engineer. He was the Chief Technical Officer at Williams Grand Prix Engineering from 2013 until 2016, having previously worked at the Benetton, Renault and Virgin Formula One teams. He is currently the Chief Technical Officer of Formula One. In September 2009, Symonds was forced to resign from the ING Renault F1 team due to his involvement in race fixing at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. After the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) conducted its own investigation, Symonds and Renault's Managing Director Flavio Briatore were banned indefinitely from any events sanctioned by the FIA, although this ban was later overturned by a French Tribunal de Grande Instance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Bell (motorsport)</span> British Formula One technical director

Robert Charles Bell is a former Formula One engineer and technical director, best known for his work with the Renault Formula One team.

Nikolas Tombazis is a racing car designer who has worked in Formula One since 1992 for the Benetton, McLaren, and Ferrari teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paddy Lowe</span> British Formula One engineer

Patrick Allen Lowe FREng, known as Paddy Lowe, is the founder and CEO of the fossil-free synthetic fuel company Zero. A former motor racing engineer and computer scientist, he spent 32 years working in Formula One, serving as Chief Technical Officer at Williams Racing, Executive Director (Technical) at Mercedes Formula One team and Technical Director at McLaren. He was involved with cars that won 12 World Championships and secured 158 race wins. He left Formula One in 2019 and co-founded Zero in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zak Brown</span> American racing driver and businessman

Zakary Challen Brown is an American businessman and former professional racing driver, currently residing in England. He is the Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Racing. Born and raised in California, Brown raced professionally around the world for ten years before developing his skills in motorsport's business and commercial worlds.

Neil Martin is an English Formula One strategist who was the former head of strategy at Scuderia Ferrari.

Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited, trading as Manor Racing MRT or Pertamina Manor Racing MRT, was a British Formula One racing team and constructor based in Banbury, Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. The team competed from 2010 through 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLaren MCL33</span> Formula One racing car

The McLaren MCL33 is a Formula One racing car designed and constructed by McLaren to compete in the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship. The car was driven by two-time World Drivers' Champion Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne, with additional testing and development work carried out by reigning European Formula 3 champion Lando Norris and McLaren's regular test driver Oliver Turvey. The MCL33 is the first car built by McLaren to use a customer Renault engine after the team terminated its engine supply deal with Honda after three years and also first McLaren car to utilize a French-licensed engine manufacturer since the Peugeot-powered McLaren MP4/9 in 1994. It made its competitive debut at the 2018 Australian Grand Prix. The car was launched with an orange and blue livery designed as a tribute to some of the team's earliest cars. Currently Fernando Alonso’s MCL33 is on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renault R.S.19</span> Formula One racing car

The Renault R.S.19 is a Formula One racing car designed and constructed by the Renault F1 Team to compete during the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed by Nick Chester, Chris Cooney, Martin Tolliday, Simon Virrill and Pete Machin with Marcin Budkowski overseeing the design and production of the car as executive technical director and Rémi Taffin leading the powertrain design. The car was driven by Nico Hülkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo. The car made its competitive debut at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix.

Nick Chester is a motorsport engineer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine F1 Team</span> French-owned Formula One racing team

Alpine F1 Team, or currently BWT Alpine F1 Team for sponsorship reasons, is the name under which the Enstone-based Formula One team has been competing since the start of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Formerly named Renault F1 Team and owned by the French automotive company Groupe Renault as well as Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, the team was rebranded for 2021 to promote Renault's sports car brand, Alpine, and continues to serve as Renault's works team. The chassis and managerial side of the team is based in Enstone, Oxfordshire, England, and the Renault-branded engine side of the team is based in Viry-Châtillon, a suburb of Paris, France. The team competes with a French licence.

Alan Permane is a British Formula One engineer. He is the former sporting director at the Alpine Formula One team.

Marcin Budkowski is a Polish Formula One engineer. He was notably the executive director of Alpine Formula One team.

David Sanchez is a French Formula One engineer, he is currently employed by McLaren F1 Team as their Technical Director of Car Concept and Performance.

References

  1. "People: Pat Fry". GrandPrix.com. Inside F1, Inc. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  2. "Pat Fry: Executive Profile & Biography". Bloomberg BusinessWeek . The McGraw-Hill Companies . Retrieved 9 July 2008.[ dead link ]
  3. "Schumacher to test a Ferrari this week". GrandPrix.com. Inside F1, Inc. 13 November 1995. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  4. Benson, Andrew (24 February 2001). "Consistency is the key, says Coulthard". BBC Sport Online. BBC . Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  5. Tytler, Ewan (21 February 2001). "The Atlas F1 2001 Teams Preview". Atlas F1 . Haymarket Publications . Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  6. "Pat Fry Leaves McLaren". grandprix.com. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  7. "Ferrari sign Fry as assistant tech chief". autosport.com. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  8. "Newcomers and organisational changes". Ferrari.com. 4 January 2011. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  9. Jonathan Noble (4 January 2011). "Ferrari reshuffles engineering staff". Autosport.com. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  10. "Ferrari confirm Allison to start as technical director in September". Grand Prix 24/7. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  11. "The Scuderia Ferrari has been reorganized". Ferrari. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  12. "Pat Fry, Nikolas Tombazis to leave Ferrari F1 team amid restructure". Autosport. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  13. Barretto, Lawrence (25 January 2016). "Ex-Ferrari F1 engineering director Pat Fry to Manor as consultant". autosport.com. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  14. "Fry returns to McLaren to strengthen F1 team's technical department". autosport.com. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  15. "McLaren's engineering director Pat Fry set to leave team". motorsport.com. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  16. "Formula 1 - Press release - Renault F1 Team confirms Pat Fry will join Enstone in 2020 - renaultsport.com". Renault Sport. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  17. "Alpine F1 Team - Announcement". Alpine. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  18. "Pat Fry to join Williams F1 team in top technical role". Autosport.
  19. "Kate's Wedding". Habershons.com. Archived from the original on 25 August 2005. Retrieved 9 July 2008.