The Emirates want their driver in F1

The UAE entered the big league of F1 through the front door in 2008 with the magnificent Yas Marina Circuit, located on the outskirts of the country’s capital, Abu Dhabi. Nevertheless, the audience is more often found in the VIP areas and on the boats in the Marina than in the stands open to the general public.

Nevertheless, the leaders are convinced that the situation would be different if a local driver were present on the grid. Richard Cregan, the circuit director, stated to The National: “We believe that we can have an Emirati driver in Formula One within 10 years. The Grand Prix has, of course, been a great success, but imagine what it would be like if there were an Emirati driver in Formula One…”

To achieve this dream, they decided to set up a training program right on the track. This materialized with the creation of three karting schools, with Yas Marina Kartzone being the latest addition last November. The first results on the international scene are starting to appear: Humaid Al Masaood won an American Le Mans Series event with the Emirati team Oryx Racing, Khaled Al Qubaisi has been present in the Porsche Supercup for two years, and Saeed Al Muhairi is one of the local representatives in the national GT championship.

For Eric Boullier, the team manager of Lotus Renault GP, the disappearance of the French Grand Prix since 2008 is a direct consequence of the absence of French drivers on the starting grid: “It’s a consequence. There are no French drivers, and that’s why there is no Grand Prix. That’s why if you have a successful French driver back in F1, then the media and sponsors will be automatically interested in F1 again and you’ll have a race.” It is interesting to note that rumors about rotating the Belgian and French Grand Prix are resurfacing as many French drivers (Romain Grosjean, Jules Bianchi, Charles Pic…) are knocking on F1’s doors. Similarly, Romain Grosjean is part of the Gravity Management structure managed by Eric Boullier, who is also involved in the committee established to organize the return of F1 in France…

The leaders of Yas Marina are indeed relying on successful examples from other countries that have recently joined F1. The most striking example is, of course, Spain: until 2001, F1 was almost unknown and MotoGP was the premier category in the Iberian Peninsula. The arrival of Fernando Alonso at Minardi that year began to change things. But a true media and popular frenzy occurred when he won the 2005 and 2006 championships. Now, the country has two events since the arrival of the European Grand Prix in Valencia, two drivers with the appointment of Jaime Alguersuari at Toro Rosso, and even a team with HRT.

However, we can clearly see a trend in the schedule oriented towards emerging countries in order to attract large crowds not yet converted to F1. The presence of a driver is necessary for the popular success of an event. This is why Narain Karthikeyan will be able to make his return at the wheel of an HRT during the first Indian event, thanks to the support of new sponsors. Similarly, it is very likely that Karun Chandhok will replace Jarno Trulli again at the same Grand Prix, as he did at the Nurburgring event. Especially since his father is none other than the director of the Indian motorsport federation… Force India, which was the first Indian team to appear on the schedule, also wants to develop an Indian driver who can excel in F1. This is why they launched a talent search campaign among the young population of the subcontinent to achieve better results than the two drivers previously mentioned.

Similarly, the presence of Vitaly Petrov represented a significant development opportunity in Russia, a priority market for many car manufacturers, with Renault at the forefront. This is why his appointment attracted many sponsors from the former Soviet bloc, as the sports car manufacturer Marussia became a shareholder in the Marussia Virgin Racing team. One of the direct consequences of the emerging interest in the country, combined with a strong political will, was the announcement of a Russian Grand Prix based in Sochi starting in 2014, a year which will also see the seaside city host the Winter Olympic Games.

On the other hand, popular success has not yet materialized in China, despite efforts since 2004. Currently, only one driver from the Middle Kingdom has managed to make his way to a Formula One team. That is Ho-Pin Tung, one of the reserve drivers for Lotus Renault since last year. He wants to believe in a growing interest among the population, but it is hard to notice due to the country’s large population: « China is a bit different from Spain because it’s such a big country with many different cultures and experiences a lot of success in many different sports. The Chinese people are spoiled in terms of sports, but I can clearly see that since I’ve been racing, there is a lot of interest in motorsports. You are not really aware of this growth because F1 is relatively small in China compared to sports like basketball. Furthermore, the interest is somewhat diluted because the country is so big. That’s why it’s not so obvious to see it. »

A Qatari driver has already won the Paris-Dakar. The dream of the Emirates is now to see one of its nationals shine at the pinnacle of global motorsports. However, many other countries share the same ambition and benefit from a much larger pool of population…

With the participation of RacingBusiness.fr