When will a Chinese driver race in F1?
27/9/2004 10:43
Shanghai Daily news
Sauber-petronas team owner Peter Sauber warned against impatience as China
seeks to groom local talents for its newest craze - motor sports. "I don't
see the prospect of having a Chinese Formula One driver on the grid in the
foreseeable future," said the 61-year-old Swede who has been engaged in Formula
One business for more than a decade. "Look at Japan, the interest in F1 out
there is huge but even under that kind of circumstances it took them so long to
have a successful F1 driver, Takuma Sato. "And the sport has just caught on
here and, I believe, it will be a while before they see anything on a grand
scale out here." The grand prix festivity held in Jiading's Shanghai
International Circuit over the weekend attracted thousands of local
fans. This was despite the fact that there was no Chinese face on the
starting grid. Hong Kong-born racer Marchy Lee Yin-kin became the only
Chinese driver to make it to the podium during the three-day event. The
28-year-old Team Meritus driver won the debut Asian Formula BMW race - one
of the four support events to the Formula One centerpiece - on Saturday, adding
to his successes this year. Lee has won 10 out of 12 races so
far. Although he spun off once in yesterday's second race, the mishap did
little to undermine his dominance in one of the most popular junior level
motorsport championship in the region. With four more races to go in the
championship, talks of Lee's possible move away to Formula One at the end of the
year has already begun to gain ground. The most likely follow-up after his
latest success is a test drive session with F1 team BMW-Williams. If that
does happen then he will be following in the footsteps of his former Meritus
teammate Tung Ho-pin, who swept the Formula BMW last season and followed it up
by testing for BMW-Williams. Sauber has also been linked with Lee but Sauber
declined comment. "I wish he achieves something based on the impressive
performance he's displayed," said Sauber. "Still, I should say the priority of
the Chinese motorsport should be the establishment of a driver development
system. That'll pay off in long term." Lee appreciated the down-to-earth
attitude advised by Sauber. "My immediate aim is to race in GP2 next year. It
will help me to learn about the circuits in Europe at high speeds, which will
benefit my long-term endeavor to make it to Formula One," said Lee. "I am
ready for it, and I think one day I'll prove that Chinese are also able to
compete at the top of motorsports." Meanwhile, aspiring Chinese Formula One
drivers stuck close to their teams at yesterday's Chinese Grand Prix, hoping for
tips on making it into the auto racing elite. Tung was in the garage
with the BMW team, which he races with in the lower rung F3 category, according
to The Associated Press. "It's a part of my development. Talking with (Juan
Pablo) Montoya and Ralf Schumacher has taught me a lot. I will enjoy the Formula
One as much as possible here," Tung, 22, said. Also at the Shanghai Circuit
was Beijing-born Cheng Congfu, now racing in the British Formula Renault
Championship with McLaren junior team, Manor Motorsport. "Competing and
racing in Europe, I'm very accustomed to the racing atmosphere here," said the
20-year-old Beijing native. "I'm confident of being a test driver or even a
real Formula One driver in two years," he said. Jiang Tengyi, 19, also raced
in the weekend races in his hometown, but failed to finish in the Formula
Renault Challenge event. Formula One's promoters have said they expect a
Chinese driver to enter the tour in as little as three years, saying that could
give a major boost to the sport's push into China's 1.3 billion person-strong
market. However, others who follow the sport say that could be overly
optimistic, pointing to the country's lack of a car racing tradition and poor
facilities.
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