PurpleSector on the Front Page of The Sunday Express

We’ve been talking to leaders across industry about how the techniques, technologies and culture of F1™ can unlock radical performance gains in the industrial machine.

Our CEO, Mark Mathieson MBE, was interviewed by the Daily Express Defence Correspondent, Conor Wilson, to share why the time is now for harnessing Industrial Racecraft™.

"We dominate the world in F1 engineering capability... what we are very good at in the UK is agility, pace and innovation. What we’re not so good at is converting that into a product form that you make and sell in some form of volume to get the payback on the investment.”

MARK MATHIESON MBE, CEO - PURPLESECTOR

Full story below:

BY CONOR WILSON

A FORMER leading Formula One engineer has called on defence chiefs to harness the innovative skills within motor racing to arm Britain for a potential conflict with Russia.

Mark Mathieson, who held senior roles with Mercedes and McLaren, believes the expertise that has seen UK teams dominate the elite sport in recent years can be utilised to rapidly bridge gaps in military capability.

He thinks the answer to improving slow, ineffective procurement processes used by the Ministry of Defence — which often end in ships, tanks and missiles entering service late and over budget — may lie in lessons developed within motorsport’s premier competition.

After leaving Formula One, Mathieson founded Surrey-based engineering consultancy Purple-Sector — and now he wants to help replace vital kit and arms that were given to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion.

He said: “We really think we can build sovereign capability in the UK. We dominate the world in F1 engineering capability, most of the teams are based here and they have been for decades.

“And what we are very good at in the UK is agility, pace and innovation.

“What we’re not so good at is converting that into a product form that you make and sell in some form of volume to get the payback on the investment.

“But I really do genuinely think that we’ve got a lot of capability in this country that is a unique selling point and we do need to harness it to turn it into something meaningful economically.”

A report by the National Audit Office in 2020 found that on average “significant capabilities” are delayed by 26 months, leaving soldiers with sub-standard equipment at a time when the UK is being readied for war.

Sources within Army headquarters who work in procurement have told the Sunday Express that although improvements have been made since Russia’s 2022 full invasion of Ukraine, that figure is still likely to be more than 18 months.

The MoD has been embarrassed by disastrous programmes such as Ajax — an armoured vehicle due to come into service in 2017 at a cost of £6billion but which remains undelivered after incidents causing injuries to soldiers.

Mr Mathieson, 55, from West Sussex, highlighted the work of experts from British-based F1 teams who, during the pandemic, developed lifesaving ventilators at pace and scale as proof of the rapid impact they could have on defence. As the world shifted its focus on responding to Covid, supply chains became clogged, causing severe delays to the import of parts that were critical to increasing production of vital equipment.

He recalled: “There was only one company, in Germany, that made a crucial part for every ventilator around the world” — demand was so high, delivery was expected to take eight to 10 weeks.

Mr Mathieson added: “We just said ‘Look, trust us — can you just send us the drawings?’ We signed a non-disclosure agreement, they didn’t expect anything but I received the drawings.

“I passed them on and within seven days we shipped them the whole set of kit back again, and we became top of the list overnight because we solved their problem. So that’s an example of the art of the possible.”

Mr Mathieson, who was made an MBE in 2021 for his ventilator work, believes lessons learned in the heat of F1 battles in Monte Carlo and Las Vegas could now equip the armed forces with skills that would prove invaluable as Britain attempts to rearm in the face of Russian aggression.

Al Carns, minister for the armed forces, warned last week that Britain is facing a moment similar to the build-up to the Second World War as he responded to comments made by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky that Russia had already started the next global conflict.

Mr Carns said: “Well, they say history doesn’t repeat itself but it sure was right. And if you were to go back to 1936, 1937, 1938, there’s definitely a lot of similarities. Ukraine is absolutely the front line of European defence and they’re doing an absolutely sterling job in holding it.”

He added the UK may be in conflict with Russia within three years, as he made the case for a growth in defence production.

The MP went on: “When it comes to deterring Russia, we have three to five years before we have to fight a significant confrontation with a major state, a geographically constrained conflict in some shape or form.

“The reality is, whether we like it or not, our military in a lot of cases hasn’t changed from the 1980s and 90s. We’ve got to move faster on everything.”

James Cartlidge, the Shadow Defence Secretary, says a Tory government would start a Sovereign Defence Fund to power rearmament, with money diverted from areas such as net zero initiatives to be invested in small and medium enterprises.

He told this newspaper: “The UK is a technology powerhouse. There are more F1 teams based in the UK than anywhere else in the world.

“But Labour are simply not making the most of Britain’s potential. They are too busy dealing with their self-inflicted scandals, like Peter Mandelson, to actually govern the country.

“Labour’s Defence Investment Plan is long overdue, having been promised for autumn 2025 — leaving our UK defence companies starved of contracts and devoid of direction.”

Mr Cartlidge added: “There is one overriding reason why it is so late: there is a gaping chasm between Labour’s defence spending rhetoric and the reality.

“As a result of their decision to prioritise welfare over defence, there’s a massive £28bn black hole in the MoD’s finances, and procurement is effectively frozen when we should be rearming at a rapid pace.”