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HANOI: Formula One’s ideal future will see Asian, American and female drivers battling for glory on race circuits around the world, the sport’s chief executive Chase Carey has said.
Carey announced that Vietnam capital Hanoi will become only the third Southeast Asian nation to host an F1 race, after Malaysia and Singapore, when it puts on a Grand Prix for the first time in 2020.
While the move is part of F1’s strategy to move into markets where it hopes to groom a new generation of fans, and boost revenues, Carey hopes the spin-off is the emergence of drivers from all around the globe.
“We want to provide opportunities for drivers of different nationalities from around the world,” he said.
“We’d love to have a Chinese driver, an American driver, a female driver, a Vietnamese driver, all be part of our future.
“We’d love nothing better than to have races around the world, to have teams and drivers from around the world.”
Although Asia has produced several F1 drivers in the past, from pioneering “Prince Bira” of Thailand in the 1950s to India’s Narain Karthikeyan in 2012, none have reached a competitive level.
Historically, Japan leads the way for Asia, having produced 20 drivers so far, though there have been none from China or Vietnam.
Carey believes that all that could change with F1’s latest foray into Asia.
“Asia is certainly important as a growth engine of the world and it will just become increasingly important part,” said Carey. AFP
“Being in Asia is certainly a cornerstone to our long-term growth strategy.” AN