Saudi Arabia 'wants to play a big role in the future of sport'

The head of Saudi Arabia's motorsport body is keen to see Formula One expanded even further in the Gulf state. Quoted by Motorsportweek.com indicates Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal would like to see a Saudi team on the grid, among other things.

Formula 1 has expanded enormously in the Middle East in recent years. As many as four countries in that region have a Grand Prix scheduled next season. Saudi Arabia is among them, but that is not the only way the country is involved in the sport: state-owned Aramco is a business partner of Formula 1, and some time ago reports even surfaced that the country would have made a bid for the entire sport.

'We want a Saudi champion'

Once upon a time, Saudi Arabia was the first Middle Eastern country to get involved in Formula 1: state-owned Saudi Air sponsored the Williams team in 1978. " This history has led to us hosting our own race now ," explains Prince Al-Faisal. "Maybe one day it will lead to us having our own team. We started with a sponsorship deal and now we have to look at the next step, and that is a partnership or shared ownership [of a team]."

And the prince makes it clear that as far as he is concerned, it doesn't have to end there either. "We would also like to have a Saudi champion, a driver capable of winning an international competition. We are very enthusiastic about motorsport and have big plans. We would like to have a big role in the future of the sport."