F2 | An era ends: how Carlin lost his team

After twenty-seven years of activity, the world of Motorsport loses a small fragment of its history. On Tuesday the largest British team in the preparatory categories was definitively renamed Rodin Motorsport following the farewell of founder Trevor Carlin.

Founded in the late nineties, the Carlin team achieved over 400 victories in the young careers in which it took part, such as Formula 2, the old Formula Renault 3.5 and the GP3 Series, with the latter now renamed Formula 3, and the national championship of Formula 4. Over the years he has also participated in other championships such as the Porsche Supercup, the IndyCar series and the Asian Le Mans Series.

An important name, also because throughout its history it has accompanied several drivers who then reached Formula 1, including two world champions such as Nico Rosberg, who contested the prestigious Macao event in 2003 with Carlin colours, and Sebastian Vettel, who started the Formula Renault 3.5 season in 2007 before being called up to the top flight with Toro Rosso. More recently, Kevin Magnussen, Carlos Sainz, George Russell and Lando Norris have also competed in the ranks of the British team, with the latter completing his final season in the preparatory categories with Carlin before moving to Formula 1 in 2019 at McLaren .

Under the guidance of Trevor Carlin as Team Principal, the team has racked up numerous victories and over 30 overall titles, initially establishing itself in the British Formula 3 championship, before spreading to other series in Europe and the rest of the world.

In 2023 Carlin presented itself at the starting line in six championships, including Formula 2, Formula 3 and the newborn F1 Academy project, which from 2024 will also see the support of the Formula 1 teams with liveries that reflect those of the teams of the highest category. Furthermore, in the past season the English team had decided to expand by also entering the Spanish F4, in addition to the classic commitment in the British national series.

However, 2023 represented a crucial year from several points of view, not only for those linked to on-track activity. In the first months of last season there were also significant changes on the management and financial level of the team. After a previous experience as a sponsor, thanks to a substantial investment the automotive company Rodin Cars had bought shares from Capsicum Motorsport Holdings Ltd, a group owned by Grahame Chilton, father of the former Formula 1 and IndyCar driver Max Chilton, who in turn he had purchased the majority of the team back in 2009. Among other things, Max Chilton himself had completed part of his journey in the preparatory categories with the English team.

Photo by: Joe Portlock / Motorsport Images

Trevor Carlin, Carlin team principal

Thanks to that purchase, Rodin established himself within the team as the majority shareholder with over 75% of the shares. The two parties had actually already collaborated previously, given that in 2022 the New Zealand company had accompanied compatriots Liam Lawson and Louis Sharp on their journeys in Formula 2 and Formula 4 as a sponsor. From there, Rodin's climb began, which however had finalized the purchase of only the team and not the entire group, given that Carlin divided itself into several companies, some of which in reality still see the historic founder actively involved, like Carlin Performance, which deals with the preparation of vehicles.

After the acquisition of the shares, with the promotion of Rodin President David Dicker to the top, in the following months the confirmation of the company's rebrand into Rodin Motorsport also arrived, even if in the various championships in which it took part the team name continued to also include the nickname Carlin. In fact, both the founder and his wife Stephanie Carlin had maintained their respective roles, with the latter having already assumed the role of Team Principal in 2022 following the team in the various rounds to follow the team's operations in Formula 2, Formula 3 and in the newborn F1 Academy project. Additionally, Stephanie herself helped oversee all aspects of the team's operations, including team structure, staff employment and training, as well as all media and sponsor public relations functions, given his background in other realities. Carlin had also followed the project of Lewis Hamilton's X44 team in Extreme E, which won the title in the category in its second participation, beating Nico Rosberg's team.

However, in the second half of 2023 some pieces started to fall apart, giving space for Rodin to take an increasingly dominant role in the team. Stephanie Carlin began to sell part of her shares in some external projects of the group, and then definitively left the team with the move to the McLaren Formula 1 team in November 2023 as director of commercial operations.

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Stephanie Carlin, Team Principal, X44 Vida Carbon Racing and responsible for numerous Carlin projects until the end of 2023, when she announced her move to McLaren

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A departure that coincided with the farewell of Trevor Carlin, who was effectively excluded from his own team last November following the decision of David Dicker himself, who thus definitively took over the management of the team. “I am thrilled to lead Rodin Motorsport in this new era of our racing history,” said Dicker, who made no reference to the Carlins in his team statement, clearly indicating the end of the relationship.

“The team has an extraordinary racing pedigree, which we will continue to build on well into the future. The 2024 season will once again be an exciting year for everyone at Rodin Motorsport and I for one can't wait to get back on track where we belong.” .

“Our core values ​​remain the same and we remain committed to being the leading team in junior motorsport. Our commitment to the drivers, championships and staff remains unwavering; we are here to race, develop drivers and continue to win.” .

Contacted by Motorsport.com, Trevor Carlin did not want to comment on his exit from the team, preferring to maintain “a dignified silence” on the matter. Thus, at least temporarily, the Carlin name disappears from motorsport, thus closing an era of preparatory categories.