Paddy McNally, the motorsport executive who transformed Formula 1 corporate hospitality through his creation of the Paddock Club, has died aged 88 in Switzerland following a long illness.
McNally, who managed Niki Lauda and worked alongside James Hunt, founded Geneva-based Allsport Management in 1983 and built the Paddock Club into the sport's premier hospitality offering. He sold the company to private equity firm CVC for approximately £262 million in 2006.
Born in Gravesend, Kent to a Royal Air Force officer, McNally was raised in County Monaghan and educated at Stonyhurst College. He dated Sarah Ferguson between 1982 and 1985, before her marriage to Prince Andrew. His property holdings included Sevenhampton Place in Wiltshire, once owned by Ian Fleming, and chalets in the Swiss resort of Verbier. His death comes two months after the sudden passing of his son Sean.