17/04/2023
NEWS STORY
Calvin Lo has reiterated his desire to get more involved in F1, the Hong Kong billionaire seeking a greater Asian presence in the sport.
In fact, the 45-year-old is already involved courtesy of his company, the insurance broker R.E. Lee International which holds a 'significant' stake in Dorilton Capital which bought Williams in 2020.
Speaking late last year Lo admitted that he was seeking to increase his involvement in terms of entering the sport, though stressing that his interest was "purely financial".
"Based on what I'm seeing right now, it's highly aspirational," he told BBC Sport in December, "but it seems like it can be done if all the stars are aligned.
Making clear that he would not be involved in the day-to-day running of the team, he said that funding the project was not "the difficult part", but rather its long-term financial viability.
"It's how long you can sustain it," he said. "In this world, finding liquidity for one or two years, relatively it's easy. But can you last for three years, five years? That's the part where the crunching of the numbers comes in.
"I look at it just like an investment," he continued. "How long do I have to amortise that cost? At what year, at what date, do we need to inject funds if it does not hit certain targets?
"And, of course, the targets must be set realistically. You cannot just go in first year and win everything. The numbers must be very conservatively managed. I think that's the tricky part."
Now, speaking to Reuters, he has reiterated his desire to enter the sport while admitting that he wants to see greater Asian involvement.
"The financial part, believe it or not, to me is actually not the biggest problem," he said. "It's actually gathering all the expertise, the mechanics, the whole team together into one unit.
"So right now there are a few opportunities coming up, have come up, and we are talking quite seriously with a few teams."
Though he wasn't prepared to name names he ruled out an association with Andretti or Hitech, both of whom are seeking to enter the sport.
"I'm just here waiting, looking at the reports, looking at the numbers, making sure everything looks fine for the long term," he said.
Asked about Williams, he revealed that a non-disclosure agreement prevents him from giving details of his involvement in the Grove outfit.
"I could say that there are involvements through investment companies to be co-investing into that team," he said. "I think that's the most I could say, especially now that we're possibly bidding for a new team for 2026."
In terms of more Asian involvement in F1, warning that currently the sport is "focusing too much on the US", he said: "I think there are a lot more Asian players, investors, who want to get into this sport, more than we could ever imagine.
"I'm fortunate enough to be able to know many of them and they've sounded out and expressed their interest in getting involved. So a consortium, pool resources together.
"I would like to see F1 to be more involving Asia, more Asian talent, not just the drivers but from behind the scenes," he admitted.