ABU DHABI // Formula One cars representing the Gulf could be on the starting grids of grands prix circuits around the world next year.That is the hope of one of motoring�s most experienced campaigners, David Richards, chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda, the famous British sports car manufacturer.Richards wants to entering a team in the Formula One championships following the decision by the Federation Internationale de l�Automobile (FIA), the sport�s governing body, to recommend a voluntary budget cap of �40million (Dh218m).
That financial restriction gives smaller teams the chance to compete with the giants of the sport like Ferrari and McLaren, and Richards is prepared to give it a go by submitting an application to race before the deadline at the end of this month.Richards has previous Formula One links with Benneton and British American Racing (BAR).He has three options for the name of his team. He can go under the banner of his rallying and touring car company Prodrive which he launched in 1984, he can use the glamorous name of Aston Martin or he can launch a new Middle East-based team.
�I am looking seriously at that third option � that�s why I�m here,� he said.�We are looking for partners in the Gulf . We are aware that those partners will want a return on their investment and we are looking at how we can provide that.�There has been much investment in circuits in this area [Bahrain and now Abu Dhabi] but the involvement of a team would take the region much further afield. It would spread around the globe.�
Richards is leaning towards parts of the Gulf where there is no presence yet in Formula One. He said it would be inappropriate to reveal his areas of preference. �There are discussions to be held here in the UAE and elsewhere,� he said.�There is a tremendous amount of interest in what we are doing. Two individuals have approached me wanting to be part of this project.� A considerable bargaining tool during negotiations is his plan to set up a manufacturing base in the region.
�That will be a composite plant. The intention is for it to start off producing component parts for the Formula One cars and we will then move the main elements of our existing company to the region,� he said.�I think this part of the world is ideal for establishing something like this.�There are vast areas of skilled expertise and semi-skilled workers that we can tap into and energy is not an issue because commodities like petrol are so cheap.
�I have every reason to feel that our operation here could be very beneficial to the region.�Richards is expecting as many as five other applications to come in during the month from aspiring Formula One competitors.�The FIA would make a judgement on the most appropriate entries to accept,� he said.�I hope that our credentials stand us in good stead. We have been there before and done it before in most forms of motorsport.�
Richards, 56, who is intending to take a low profile role in the new set-up and appoint a younger person as team principal, indicated he is going to capitalise on the return of the legendary Cosworth engine to Formula One. �There are several established engines now that we could use but but Cosworth are about to come back,� he said.�Anybody will remember the famous V8 engine that dominated for decades. They were the bedrock of F1. They have introduced an engine for next year and that might be a viable alternative to going with one of the established engines out there today.�
As for drivers of the new cars, Richards was guarded about making any unsettling comments.�That has to be the final piece of the jigsaw.It all goes in tandem. We have to make sure that we have the establishment in place first,� he said.�Then we put the finance and the personnel of the team in place and then we work on getting the drivers.�The driver he knows best from his previous dalliances with Formula One is leading the world championship.
Richards was in charge of the BAR team in 2004 when Jenson Button finished third to Michael Schmacher in the drivers� championship.�I have known Jenson since his karting days.� he said.�I knew he had the attributes then to become world champion and, fingers crossed, that might come to him this year.�I was so pleased to see him win three times this season. He is an underestimated talent and always has been in my view.
�When Renault cast him to one side, I picked him up and put him in our team at BAR. Put him in the right car as we have seen this year and he�s away. He is one of the smoothest drivers on the track.�wjohnson@thenational.ae
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