22/02/2023
NEWS STORY
The chairman of Saudi Motorsport Company admits that the long-term dream is to have a Saudi F1 team and champion driver.
Though the supposed bid by the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund to buy the sport was the straw that broke the camel's back - no pun intended - in the relationship between F1 and FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the chairman of the Saudi Motorsport Company, HRH Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, admits that his country's ambitions, as far as F1 is concerned, go far beyond hosting a round or two of the world championship.
"We have a lot of history with motorsport as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was the first Middle East country to be involved in Formula 1," he says. "It dates back to the sponsorship deal with Williams in 1978 and yes, I remember when I was very young, watching Formula 1 and seeing the Fly Saudi logos on the Williams cars. It was inspiring for me and that was one of the aspects that attracted me to motorsport.
"I was really proud to see my country and the name of a company from Saudi Arabia in such a prestigious, international event such as Formula 1.
"This is what inspired me to work closely with Formula 1 and I'm happy to see how this journey has progressed over the past 40 years. This legacy that has taken us to hosting a race may one day expand to us having our own Saudi F1 team.
"Today we see many more Saudi companies partnering with F1 and teams such as Aramco and Aston Martin and NEOM and McLaren so I expect our relationship to grow and play a bigger role in the future."
Asked if hosting a Grand Prix is inspiring Saudi youth to get involved in motorsport, he replies: "Yes, for sure.
"For me it started with the 1978 Williams car and for anyone coming to Jeddah for the race, when they see the cars and the drivers close up, it can give them the motivation to become marshals, mechanics, engineers, part of the medical team or organising committee, or even drivers themselves one day.
"Hosting an F1 race and allowing people to have a look behind the scenes and get close to the action will definitely have a big effect on them," he adds. "The Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation and Saudi Motorsport Company want to capitalise on this because we have big plans for the future!
"We're investing in new tracks, big infrastructure and new cities and we are opening new factories for Ceer Motors and Lucid," he continues, "new manufacturers and partnerships with NEOM and McLaren too.
"We want Saudi to be a hub and to help attract teams to open facilities here and that will benefit the big companies we have, like Aramco.
"We started in 1978 by sponsoring a team and now we need to look at the next step which is a joint venture or a partnership.
"Our vision is to develop technology in schools and have manufacturers supplying materials and building parts so that cars can be assembled here. It could even be investment into synthetic fuels, biofuels or even hydrogen or other technologies that we could help with in the future.
"We would also like a Saudi champion, a driver who is capable of winning an international racing competition. We are really enthusiastic about motorsport and have big plans and we want to contribute by having a big role in the future of the sport.
"Hopefully in 10 to 20 years from now you will see Saudi Arabia and Saudi companies and more people engaged globally with Formula 1."