Twelfth team applies for a spot on the F1 grid in '27

An unusual report out of Kuwait. A wealthy investor wants to bring Caterham back to Formula 1, he has announced to the world. That sounds promising. But the chances of making this a reality are quite small.

In a press release that is circulating online and from which several motorsport media have already quoted, it reads: "We are announcing that Saad Kassis-Mohamed Capital plans to return a dormant F1 entrant to the grid under a new entry, SKM Racing, targeting 2027, subject to FIA approval and agreement with the commercial rights holder."

That team is Caterham, for which Giedo van der Garde and others have competed in the past. This team went bankrupt in 2014, after two difficult years in the sport. Another racing outfit is now tipped rise from the ashes of this team.

The idea for the new project comes from the 24-year-old entrepreneur Saad Kassis-Mohamed. He was previously recognized by Forbes business magazine as one of the thirty most influential people under the age of thirty 'Social Impact in Africa'.

On that continent, he has a foundation. With his investment firm SKM Capital, he also wants to enter Formula 1. For this, he would want to invest 280 million euros annually.

The question is how realistic the re-entry is, because in the case of Cadillac it has been shown how many obstacles lie ahead on the way before a spot on the grid is allowed.

Only after Cadillac wanted to join as a factory team and after many discussions about the distribution of revenues, there was a 'go'.

The entrepreneur from Kuwait has already identified various people who will be involved in the project.

He mentioned the names of Elena Richter (Managing Director), Marco Bianchi (Technology) and Aisha Khan (Performance). Whether this is indeed true, is difficult to verify.