Prince Unveils Bold Vision for Saudi Arabian F1 Team
Apr.16 - Saudi Arabia could be set to deepen its already intensifying investments in Formula 1 by starting or buying a team.
The Kingdom is not only host of this weekend's ultra-fast street race in Jeddah - the state-owned oil giant Aramco and mining company Ma'aden sponsor Aston Martin and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) bought into McLaren in 2021.
And now, Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal - a member of the royal family - says Saudi Arabia is interested in actual F1 team ownership.
"It could happen," he told journalists, including Ouest France newspaper. "It could happen soon as we see the rapid growth of this sport.
"If you buy a Formula 1 team, people will buy it to make money, especially if it is bought by one of the PIF companies," he added. "We are very interested."
The Prince, also chairman of the Saudi automobile federation, insisted there is "definitely room on the grid" for Saudi Arabia, pointing out that in 2026 there will be eleven teams, although the maximum is twelve.
"Potentially one or two teams could be put up for sale in the future," he continued. "We already organise a grand prix and sponsor teams, so I wouldn't be surprised if we see an announcement of a Saudi team soon.
"It's not easy to say which team to buy and how to manage it, but personally I would like to see a Saudi team. It is not an easy issue, but why shouldn't it be possible?"
The Prince also indicated that Saudi Arabia is interested in taking over as the season-opening grand prix.
"We want to be the first on the calendar," said Prince Khalid. "That has everything to do with the weather - it's just too hot here in the middle of the season. And it's better for sales to start the season."
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No existing team is on sale & is unlikely to go on sale for the foreseaable future, so starting from scratch like Haas & Cadillac is the only option for a Saudi team to join.
Aston Martin team indeed has Saudi sponsors, but McLaren's Racing Operation is fully Bahraini-owned.
Starting the seasons in Jeddah would require holding the season-opener by mid-February next year due to Ramadan timing, although 2027 would be easier because that year's Ramadan phase ends on March 8.
I'm sure the Saudi Arabian GP becoming a season-opener would be a non-issue if they were willing to pay a separate premium for it like Abu Dhabi has done for the season-finale status ever since 2014.
However, the season-opening status is irrelevant whether-wise because all of February, March, as well as April predominantly, are okay on this front.
The sales matter is different, though.
Additionally, Qiddiya will almost certainly join alongside Jeddah rather than replace it, so with Jeddah already in the early-season phase, Qiddiya will most likely get placed into the late-season phase like Jeddah as a one-off thing in its inaugural season.
Btw, 13 is the maximum permitted team amount since the maximum car amount on the grid is 26 & 12 teams equal 24 cars.
Audi 30%/33% and possibly AM with minority shareholdings, The Arabs are taking over F1
Indeed
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