Jiang Tengyi stands in front of his Maserati sports car during the launch of the Shanghai International Circuit in June this year. The Shanghai native is one of the Chinese hopefuls for a seat in Formula One.

Dutch-born Tung Ho-pin, who races in the German F3 championship, made it into the history books by becoming the first ethnic Chinese to test an F1 car.

Shanghai Daily news

The country passionately embraces motorsport this weekend as the inaugural Chinese Grand Prix hits full gas at Shanghai International Circuit.
But the absence of a Chinese face in the grid raises the inevitable questions: Who will make it into the history books by becoming the first Chinese Formula One driver?
And when?
The search for a local star is regarded as the key to further promote the sport, new to most Chinese people.
“We’ve got a lot more kids coming in the company of parents, saying they want to be Michael Schumacher,” said William Long, a local motorsport agent and the former owner of Shanghai Quyang Karting Field, one of the three outdoor gokart race facilities in the city.
“And a Chinese name emblazoned on the edge of a Formula One cockpit will certainly arouse more interest in the sport as a whole.”
Long started his go-kart business in 1995 after moving from Hong Kong, the old Chinese auto racing stronghold.
Now the crown is taken over by Shanghai and Zhuhai, where the country’s two most prominent circuits are located.
The Zhuhai circuit, built in the mid-90s, is the birth place of FRD racing school, which played a major role in nurturing Chinese talent.
The most notable graduate is Franky Cheng Congfu, who now operates under the wing of McLaren-Mercedes’ youth developing program.
The 20-year-old shot to fame when he emerged from a nationwide talent search by the McLaren F1 team, at the recommendation of the management of Shanghai International Circuit.
Despite his multiple national and continental trophies in both go-kart and car racing, Cheng now has to struggle to be competitive in the prestigious British Formula Renault Championship with McLaren junior team Manor Sports.
“He’s a strong personality, very self-confident sometimes even imposing,” said Long, who managed Cheng for a while from 1998 to 1999.
“I don’t know exactly how he’s progressed with his current team but I reckon that he might stage a stronger performance if he better communicates with his engineers and team officials.”
Cheng’s childhood friend Jiang Tengyi is another Chinese racer in the competitive European arena.
The 19-year-old Shanghai native raced in the Italian Formula Renault Championship with Prema Power, a junior team affiliated with Toyota F1.
Although Jiang is far from being officially linked to any Formula One outfit, his exposure in the country and appeal to potential sponsors could be a match to Cheng, if not larger.
He seized huge media attention on SIC’s launch ceremony early in June when he led a glamorous car parade in a Maserati.
But both Jiang and Cheng are one step behind Tung Ho-pin, a Netherlands-born ethnic Chinese driver, who tested a BMW-Williams F1 car last December.
The 22-year-old was the first ethnic Chinese to drive an F1 machine, a prize from BMW for his dominating performance in the 2003 Asian Formula BMW Championship.
He won 10 of the 14 races while claiming 12 poles.
Groomed in the European racing system, Tung benefited from better training than his domestic peers.
Now competing in the German Formula 3 championship, he has scored a number of podium finishes this season and stands at the middle of drivers’table.
Other contenders for the glory of the first Chinese Formula One racing driver include Marchy Lee Yin-kin, who’s just secured this year’s Asian Formula BMW title and is now pursuing a sponsored Formula One career.
Latest FRD graduate and Lee’s fellow Hong Kong racer Jim Kato is also someone worthy of notice.
Rumor goes that the 18-year-old driver will run in the Formula Renault Euro Cup next season under the sponsorship of popular softdrink brand Red Bull.
Lee and Jiang will display their talent in Asian Formula BMW and Asian Formula Renault races this weekend, both of which are support events to the Chinese Grand Prix.
Tung and Cheng will be part of the big action in another way: staying with BMWWilliams and McLaren-Mercedes respectively in the pits and following the whole Grand Prix process.