Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup team has gone all-in with Mercedes F1 with James Allison appointed Chief Technical Officer of INEOS Britannia and operations currently in the Mercedes base in Brackley Ben Ainslie\u2019s America\u2019s Cup Challenge \u2013 now INEOS Britannia, formerly INEOS Team UK \u2013 launched the first stage of its tilt at the 37th America\u2019s Cup today. INEOS Britannia revealed a number of key new personnel as well as just how closely the Cup team will be working alongside the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team at their base in Brackley.
\nThe leadership team was unveiled in a video presentation hosted by Georgie Ainslie, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Sir Ben Ainslie, David Endean, Toto Wolff and James Allison all present. It was broadcast from the Mercedes F1 base in Brackley. The location and presence of Wolff and Allison all provided an early clear direction of the team\u2019s setup ahead of the next America\u2019s Cup.
\nIt\u2019s clear that within the six months that have elapsed since the end of the 36th America\u2019s Cup \u2013 which culminated in a successful defence for Emirates Team New Zealand and the British team bowing out in the Prada Cup Final \u2013 the team has been busy restructuring and making some tough decisions.
\n\u201cWe stopped pretty firmly in Auckland and then had to regroup. You need to be careful not to make rash decisions and now we need to make sure we have the right people involved,\u201d explained newly promoted Chief Operating Officer, David Endean, who was with the team in Auckland as Project Director.<\/p>\n
One such right person for the job is the newly hired Martin Fischer, who joins the team as Head of Design Concept. Fisher headed up the design team for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in the last Cup cycle, so comes with a great deal of experience in the AC75 and America\u2019s Cup more broadly.
\nThis will be a big scalp for the team, with such an experienced designer who was responsible for producing the boat which ultimately knocked the Brits out of the Cup last time round.
\nThey have picked up another new design hire in Nat Shaver, a foil design expert who was with American Magic for the last America\u2019s Cup too.
\nArticle continues below\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmerica\u2019s Cup venue decision delayed: where\u2019s in the frame?<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe much anticipated announcement of venue for the 37th America\u2019s Cup, due to be unveiled today (Friday, September 17), has\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmerica\u2019s Cup: Youth, Women\u2019s and Word Series class announced<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhile we await the full protocol for the 37th America\u2019s Cup, which should contain details of the venue and date\u2026<\/p>\n
Clearly the design decisions taken in the lead up to the last America\u2019s Cup were identified as a weakness (read our piece in the development process which saw the Brits ultimately get knocked out of the America\u2019s Cup in early 2021) and it is this area where there has been significant work on recruitment. It has also clearly been the impetus for a much closer working relationship with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, which developed during the last Cup cycle, partly when F1 racing was paused during lockdown.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think the Brits have ever arrived at an America\u2019s Cup with a boat that probably could have won, even though we have had some fantastic sailors,\u201d commented Sir Jim Radcliffe.
\nRadcliffe is the man responsible for the Mercedes and INOES Britannia collaboration, being both the owner of the INOES Britannia team and a significant backer and stakeholder in the Mercedes F1 team.
\n\u201cAnd our boat that we had for AC36 wasn\u2019t capable of winning, technically it was not good enough,\u201d he added.
\nAmerica\u2019s Cup and F1, happy bedfellows?
\nSince the America\u2019s Cup moved to super-high speed foiling boats back in 2013 there has been a great deal of talk about the ways in which Formula 1 technologies can be used to improve the performance of America\u2019s Cup yachts, be they the AC72 foiling catamarans, the AC50 foiling catamarans or the latest AC75 foiling monohulls.
\nToto Wolff and Sir Jim Ratcliffe
\nBut for all the similarities between the two sports \u2013 both are essentially design, engineering and technology challenges in which the best sportspeople compete for victory \u2013 rarely has the inclusion of F1 designers, engineers or technology made any clear difference to a team winning the America\u2019s Cup.
\nOne could argue that for all the similarities, the differences are too great to make a significant impact one way or the other. Or perhaps, as appears to be the opinion of INEOS Britannia, integration needs to be done hand in glove at the outset.
\n\u201cWhen people talk about the America\u2019s Cup being like Formula 1 on water, most people immediately think, it\u2019s hydrodynamic, it\u2019s aerodynamic, it\u2019s technical. But the most striking thing to me is that it is difficult,\u201d explained James Allison, Chief Technical Officer of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and now also Chief Technical Officer of INEOS Britannia.
\n\u201cThe way in which it has worked okay for us in F1 is to have the humility to admit that it is difficult and if you don\u2019t your competition will eat you up. And this challenge; it is proper difficult.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s really exciting that there is a team of experienced [Cup] engineers that are absolutely at the heart of what we are doing\u2026 and Mercedes will bring our own engineers, all of them capable, skilful engineers. Hopefully working with people who have done this Cup before, and understand it, we can work together to create something special, good enough for this one difficult challenge.\u201d
\nINEOS struggled with design in the last America\u2019s Cup. Photo: Team INEOS UK \/ Lloyd Images
\nThis broadly summarises the direction of travel for INOES Britannia. There is a new design team of top class naval architects and foil designers who will be working alongside the significant engineering, design, and technical know-how of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.
\nMercedes were involved in the last America\u2019s Cup challenge with Ainslie\u2019s team, but both Wolff and Allison pointed out on several occasions that they were not there at the start of the cycle and came in relatively late.
\n\u201cLast time round there were, as Toto [Wolff] mentioned, people in the factory who got engaged as we had some of our own down in Portsmouth working on the boat and then eventually when it was racing there were people actually out there in Auckland.
\n\u201cWe were brought in to be capable bodies to put their shoulder to the wheel, but we did not have any real part in the strategy or the thinking behind it, we were just brought in to help. This time round we are all one big team trying to make sure we put something competitive together.
\n\u201cIt does feel different as we have a lot of skin in it and we want to make sure we are pulling our weight and to make sure we have something competitive when it comes to race time.\u201d
\nA key member of the team in terms of syncing up both the naval architects and the Mercedes design team may be newly appointed Technical Director of INEOS Britannia, Geoffrey Willis. Willis is a Mercedes man and also Technical Director of Mercedes-AMG F1 Applied Science.
\nWillis started his design career in the sailing field, having been a member of the design team for Peter de Savary\u2019s Blue Arrow America\u2019s Cup Challenge \u2013 which ultimately did not compete in the 1988 America\u2019s Cup, which became a deed of gift challenge between Michael Fay\u2019s giant KZ-1 and Dennis Connor\u2019s rigid winged catamaran, Stars and Stripes.
\nHe then moved into Formula 1 and has built an impressive career working, and winning constructor championships, with a number of F1 outfits before moving to Mercedes in 2011.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\nWillis will surely be a key member of personnel in essentially helping to stitch together two design teams from the two worlds of foiling and elite motorsport.
\nAuckland hosted a stunning event in 2020\/21
\nA push for the Protocol
\nThough much of the presentation was given over to how INOES Britannia will be working alongside Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 there was another notable theme: the push to get the protocol published and get moving with the build up to the 37th America\u2019s Cup.
\nThere was a sense of impatience from the Challenger of Record to get to the protocol agreed. The protocol must be agreed by the Defender (Emirates Team New Zealand) and Challenger of Record (INEOS Britannia) and usually sets out the venue, the class of boat and most of the rest of the conditions under which the America\u2019s Cup will be sailed.
\nCurrently the protocol is due to be released on the 17 November, but there has been a great deal of debate surrounding the likely venue of the event. Emirates Team New Zealand have been looking into options other than holding it in Auckland, the scene of their successful defence.
\nWithout knowing the venue and its likely wind conditions, all Challengers are limited to purely theoretical design development \u2013 something Martin Fischer made clear in a follow up video chat. As time is the deciding factor in many successful America\u2019s Cup bids, the Challenger of Record, along with any other potential teams, is keen to get things moving as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
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Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup team has gone all-in with Mercedes F1 with James Allison appointed Chief Technical Officer of INEOS Britannia and operations currently in the Mercedes base in Brackley Ben Ainslie\u2019s America\u2019s Cup Challenge \u2013 now INEOS Britannia, formerly … <\/p>\n