It seems that the reports about Ma Qing Hua signing for HRT for next year may be a little premature. The event in China from which the stories emanated was simply a celebration of him becoming the first Chinese-born driver in an Formula 1 car. The event featured all manner of local dignitaries but was not confirmation of a new deal, at least not publicly.
After having joined HRT Formula 1 Team’s Driver Development Programme last May, Ma got his first chance to drive for the team in the Young Driver Test in Silverstone in July and has attended most of the Grands Prix with the team and drive in the Friday morning sessions at the Italian, Singapore and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix. He has done a decent job.
“At HRT Formula 1 Team we are very happy with Ma Qing Hua since he began with us,” said David Mancebo, the team’s Business Director. “He has progressed notably in his development as a driver and has fitted into the team perfectly. He’s a driver with incredible talent and great potential. He has also met the expectations of every challenge he has been presented with and which were more complicated each time. Our team is a young one with a project which is still under construction that looks to the future and, without a doubt, we would like to continue counting on Ma Qing Hua for the future as we have done this year”.
It is hoped that money can be found either in China or from a multinational keen to do business in China to keep Ma in F1 and build up Chinese interest in the sport.
Will a deal come? Maybe.
Is it done yet? Only if it is conditional on money!
Test?
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Ok Joe, here is your response. While I’m here though I’d like to thank you for being true to your profession and bringing thoughtful and researched analysis to F1. I see very little journalistic integrity these days and I am grateful to you and your Grand Prix + colleagues.
Cheers
Paul
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Hi Joe,
There is talk that the HRT 113 will be reveiled in the Canary Islands,,could that be an important sponsor deal on the way?
Didn’t williams test a Chinese driver back in the BMW days? I’m guessing the difference is Chinese born or that he tested on a race weekend?
Phil, this was Ho-Pin Tung. A Dutchman racing with a Chinese license.
Looks possible someone did a very good job selectively PRing the Ma story, and possibly the Greece track story. It’s almost prank level. Even taking a dim view of the armchair F1 scribbling crowd, how did these bubble up? I presume everyone serious has had their ears to the ground looking for big stories before Austin. Or have has there been more subsidence of standards? Thinking of Austin, I just can’t imagine a pro sports league in America not actively trying to keep silly stories managed.
John, it wasn’t just the ‘armchair’ crowd who got this one wrong…..
I know, I wasn’t directing blame, Steve, not at any party, but trying to figure out how you slip one under the radar. Would be unremarkable if it were just the armchair crowd. I feel like a epidemiologist trying to guess hunches where the outbreak happened! (Dustin Hoffman, your call . .)
Love it! Thanks!
Joe Are you doing one of your events in Austin?
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No, I am not. There was no sensible venue available because they all wanted too much money.
My new refrain: venues and the entire system do themselves a disservice not to provide sane prices to accommodate who promotes their gig. I’m no fan of JA, for example, but if I could go hear Joe speak, and the next day JA, I;d like to hear him also. Matchett I would certainly seek out, how cool is that, if you line up who has a clue? Sky could actually get some content for their F1 channel, at last . . .
p.s. I think I just made a real boo boo, by saying something that ought to make commercial sense in the open. I’d totally pitch having Joe and a couple others (rotation) as “masterclass speakeasy” to the sky tube. There’s a format right there. Lemme attit!
Is chasing the RMB fools gold in F1?
But then big sponsors may just be silly enough to sponsor a team with a Chinese driver – without *fully* researching and analysing the actual benefit of that – i.e. what demographic and detail of the Chinese population (the miniscule amount that really follow F1 AND would be a potential customer of their product) would even be true target markets?
People with money is not the problem. F1 commentors saying things like ‘the ticket costs far more than the average salary’ shows that they really have no idea at all about China (the BBC reporters say this every single year).
The reality is that the are more wealthy people in Shanghai able to afford a ticket than in most cities/countries on Earth. The problem in filling the stands (as is done e.g. in Silverstone) is that they are just not that bothered about live sport. The wealthy are not like the wealthy in other countries. Rather than think about what enjoyment they could have from such hobbies or sporting/life pursuits, they would prefer to just go to eat and shop every single weekend.
Other sports such as tennis and golf are even more imprinted on the psyche as ‘something to go to watch’.
The F1 circuit in Shanghai doesn’t help at all.
The track itself is nice and has given some great over-taking races in the past years.
Yet getting there is a pain – simply getting there to park your car is a huge issue.
Then when there, the facilities are barren – plain concrete, a dingey and thrown-together ‘entertainment’ or exhibition area. Food is either steamed dumplings or pizza – all contained within a roughly 50 sqm area. And that’s it.
Seems to be a double up with this story and your testing story…
Ho Joe,
What´s going on with HRT?Ownership change on the way?
We will have to see. The team is definitely in a state of flux.