The Formula 1 world mourns the loss of Robert “Bob” Fernley. The former Force India boss has died at the age of 70. Fernley is best known in Formula 1 for being the right-hand man to former team owner Vijay Mallya, and in his role as deputy team boss he acted as head of the team when the Indian was unable to travel to the races due to legal issues.
The Brit was in Formula 1 with the Ensign team in the early 1980s, but then went to America, where he mainly worked in the Can-Am series and the IndyCar series.
In 2008 he joined Mallya and the new Force India team and retained the role as deputy team boss until Lawrence Stroll took over the racing team after its bankruptcy and continued under the name Racing Point.
Fernley returned to the United States before succeeding Stefano Domenicali as head of the Formula Racing Commission at the end of 2020, when he rose to become the new Formula 1 boss. In the spring of 2022 he resigned from this post.
“I am saddened by the news that Bob Fernley has passed away,” says Domenicali. “He was such an important part of Formula 1 and his love and passion for the sport will live on forever. My thoughts are with his family and friends at this very sad time.”
Esteban Ocon, who used to drive for Fernley at Force India, is also shocked: “I’m sad about Bob Fernley’s passing today,” said the Frenchman.
“He was a great person and leader and I was fortunate to work with and learn from him during my time at Force India. My thoughts and condolences go out to his family and friends.”
Fernley’s former Force India colleague Otmar Szafnauer learned of his companion’s death from Mallya and pays tribute to his contribution to the team.
“When Vijay wasn’t able to be with the team as much, Bob would always tell us what Vijay would want in certain situations, which was very helpful,” he told Motorsport.com.
“He allowed the rest of the team to focus on the real job, which is improving the car, hiring the people and taking care of all the politics. That was really his biggest role and contribution,” said Szafnauer. “He was a relatively young man and I’m shocked. Our racing community has lost a good man.”