HSBC Nero

**Team Nero UK**, running as **HSBC Nero FI Team** for sponsorship reasons, was a British racing team. Founded by British electronic band Nero, the team intended to debut in 2033, but withdrew from the bidding war and debuted in 2034 after taking over the BMW Andretti team. The team had a difficult start in life, finishing last in their first two seasons in the grid, but eventually managed to move up the grid from 2036 following further support from title sponsors HSBC. From 2038, the team started making plans to move up to Formula Earth and in 2040 they moved up after taking Alpha Tauri, and put their FI venture on sale. The assets were purchased by Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who created the Paris Saint-Germain team.

## Origins

Team Nero UK was founded in 2032 by British electronic band Nero, who had won various awards in the mid-2010s on their music career. After various preparations, including appointing vocalist Alana Watson as leader of the project and signing a lucrative sponsorship deal with HSBC, who had sponsored Stewart and Jaguar in Formula 1, the team attempted to enter the bidding war for Alpine's assets but withdrew due to a lack of preparation. Eventually, they bought the remnants of BMW Andretti in the end of the 2033 season, thus entering in 2034 as HSBC Nero FI Team for sponsorship reasons.

## 2034-2035: A difficult start

For their debut season, Nero signed two newcomers from FC, Roy Assulin and Sebastian Lindgren. The team, despite their budget, had the worst car of the grid due to them enduring their learning year and finished last with no points after a string of unlucky results. 2035 was an improved season with both drivers scoring their first ever points in what was a very competitive grid, but the lack of pace throughout the season saw them finishing last again.

## 2036-2037: Established midfielders

In 2036, following a 25% buyout of the team from title sponsors HSBC, Nero built a very competitive car for 2036 season and managed to score a podium on the second race of the season with Assulin. The team overall performed consistently in the midfield, although the car actually turned out to be the second best in raw pace behind DS Techeetah. In the 15th race of the season, Lindgren, who had struggled in the first half of the season, scored his and the team's first win in Madrid, helping Nero finish 6th and beat the more experienced Venturi team. Overall, the team finished 6th on their third year on the sport, with Assulin finishing 10th having finished 15 out of 16 races and Lindgren 12th.

2037 was a bit of a tougher year, but the team managed to be the best of the lower midfield and finish in 7th place, with Lindgren finishing 14th with 34 points and Assulin 16th with 32 points on their last year at the team, beating Nissan and Saudia in a tough battle for 7th.

## 2038-2039: Final years and promotion to Formula Earth

In 2038, the team signed two new drivers, Darvy Fergusson and Vasiliy Tkachenko. However, the team had fallen down to the back of the grid, with rumour having that they would leave Formula International. Tkachenko showed impressive pace on his only FI season, scoring a best result of 4th in the struggling car, while Fergusson finished with only 1 point.

In 2039, the team lost Tkachenko to Gazprom Lada in the draft and the team signed Eleni Tsobanou on loan from Red Bull. Nero had the slowest car of the grid, scoring overall 5 points in what was proven to be their final season in the sport, after months of cryptic tweets and speculation. Nero took part in the bidding war for Alpha Tauri's assets against fellow FI team Venturi, but in the end the Monegasque team was found guility of sending fraudulent data about their cash and were disqualified before they would submit their bid. As a result, Nero purchased Alpha Tauri's assets and moved to Formula Earth. The FI venture was sold to Nasser Al-Khelaifi, owner of the Paris Saint-Germain football club, who created then the eponymous racing team.

## Notable Drivers

* Roy Assulin (2034-2037)
* Sebastian Lindgren (2034-2037)
* Darvy Fergusson (2038-2039)
* Vasiliy Tkachenko (2038)
* Eleni Tsobanou (2039)