An equal F1 team wants to be in the royal class. According to rumors, Saudi Arabia is behind the project.
The new team wants to join the F1 series in the 2026 season.
According to Motorsport.com world champion by Jacques Villeneuve former manager Craig Pollock told CNN about the plans on Tuesday.
The team’s name is Formula Equal. The name comes from the fact that half of the stable’s employees are women and half are men.
The headquarters of the stable is one of the countries of the Persian Gulf region. Saudi Arabia is believed to be strongly behind the project.
– The construction of the new F1 team has been underway for almost four years. We want to build opportunities for women to reach the top of motorsports, Pollock said.
– The idea is to build a stable where 50 percent are men and 50 percent are women. It is very difficult if there is already a stable. Everything is easier with a clean slate, he continued.
Craig Pollock is working on a new F1 team. PDO
According to Pollock, the equal distribution would apply to all work tasks in the stable. He would also like a female driver in the new team, but believed that practical implementation would cause problems.
– The truth is that in order to get behind the wheel of an F1 car, a driver must have a certain number of points in his super license. So I can’t promise this.
– It’s not about a woman just driving an F1 car. It’s about the whole team.
New stables
Saudi Arabia has gained more foothold in formula one. Photo from Jeddah’s street track. PDO
The world champion’s manager refused to say whether Saudi Arabia is involved in the team. However, Pollock revealed that he had held close discussions with the states of the Persian Gulf region.
In the manager’s opinion, the Middle East would be a suitable place for the stable, because the air connections from the area are good.
Saudi Arabia was ranked 127th in the equality index published by the World Economic Forum in 2022. There were 146 countries on the list.
Willing new teams have appeared in the F1 series after the umbrella organization FIA said that formula one could see new teams in 2025 and 2026. The German manufacturer Audi has already confirmed that it will join the royal class, as has Ford.
Cadillac, whose background is the Andretti motor racing family, has also shown interest.