emirati f1 driver?

[shirt]

so i keep hearing the advert for this on the radio so i've just had a look on the site:

http://www.damanspeedacademy.ae/opencms/opencms/DS...

then found this link:

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/abu-dhabi/dreaming-o...

typical uae. let's advertise something that is already closed for entries and only open to locals. then - wonder of wonders - one of those selected just happens to be the daughter of the organiser!

an emirati f1 driver, i give it about the same odds as me become a sheikh.

[dxbtiger]

shirt said:

an emirati f1 driver, i give it about the same odds as me become a sheikh.

Really?

If any of them show any kind of promise, especially the Nahyan then they will just buy him a drive.

Wouldn't be the first time, doesn't the current grid have drivers that are purely there for the sponsorship money they bring?

[e21jason]

The grid does have pay drivers, and most have had a career funded up through the ranks.

Even the Americans/South Americans/Australians tend to come to Europe to learnt he craft rather than the local series. I can't see a local series giving the level of competition required to get to the top. You could see it in the Porsche super cup supporting the F1. The top guys from the MENA region that had previously won 2 weeks earlier during the local race at YAS where several seconds of the pace.

Also as well as money you need an FIA super licence, which does require a certain level of talent.

Have we not had a local f1 driver before

http://jalopnik.com/5205333/fia-official-crashes-r...

[Harris_I]

e21jason said:

I can't see a local series giving the level of competition required to get to the top. You could see it in the Porsche super cup supporting the F1. The top guys from the MENA region that had previously won 2 weeks earlier during the local race at YAS where several seconds of the pace.

It's the same everywhere. Even the top drivers struggle to make the transition from UK Carrera Cup to Super Cup. That said, you're right about the talent base and the lack of local competition. Too much focus on individuals from the right family/background/corporate sponsorship. Too little on sourcing from a wider talent pool. I hope this latest initiative is a step in the right direction, though judging from the surnames of the drivers who have been selected, I suspect it's more of the same.

[e21jason]

They guys raceing 2 weeks ago where also racing supercups, but in the supercups/gp3/gp2 there where always 2-3 drives who romped off, the rest of the field was a bit more even. And watching them through turns 5,6,7 they always later/harder on the brakes and seemed to get on the power smother and quicker for the exit.

[shirt]

dxbtiger said:

shirt said:

an emirati f1 driver, i give it about the same odds as me become a sheikh.

Really?

If any of them show any kind of promise, especially the Nahyan then they will just buy him a drive.

Wouldn't be the first time, doesn't the current grid have drivers that are purely there for the sponsorship money they bring?

yep, i think maldonado brings in most at 40mill via PDVSA [venezuelan oil co.] but i doubt williams would struggle without it.

what does chilton pay? the boy's a waste of space and i guess it doesn't matter how far behind you are if you're coming flat last every race.

i just don't think a local kid born into such privilege has the drive to make it to the top. certainly not the ones they've picked. they need to be karting in europe whereas these would be embarrassed by most of the guys at the kartdrome.

[thb]

Things like this wind me up. Pointless CSR campaign for Daman to feel better about itself for a couple of years before it gets forgotten about. All those kids are too old now to really make the transition into proper driving, some have been karting for only 2 years! The radio campaign is skin-crawlingly bad too.

Motorsport in this region is always going to suffer as there's no benefits for companies to throw lots of money onto sponsorship to avoid tax bills like they can in Europe, and the media just doesn't support the 'grassroots' stuff we have.

[shirt]

i was reading something earlier about the grand parade. one of the particpants said they hadn't come across passion and enthusiasm for motorsport anywhere in the world like they have found in the uae.

hmmm. chinny reckon.

[yorky500]

shirt said:

i was reading something earlier about the grand parade. one of the particpants said they hadn't come across passion and enthusiasm for motorsport anywhere in the world like they have found in the uae.

hmmm. chinny reckon.

Skid pans and drag racing for sure, or swerving from side to side down a straight road that is lined with people and cars - thats fine.

Actual motorsport = no.