Calvin Lo, a businessman in Hong Kong, has indicated that he is interested in investing money into a Formula 1 team in the coming years.
Lo has a relationship with Dorilton Capital, a private investment firm that has been helping him put money into business ventures.
Dorilton is also the owner of the Williams team after taking over from the Williams family in 2020, so Lo has been given “some sort of exposure,” per Reuters, to the world of Formula 1.
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The pinnacle of motorsport has shown plenty of interest in branching out beyond Europe to multiple other areas of the world in recent months, and Asia is a market that it could be profitable to tap back into.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a lot of cash waiting to be invested in Asia at the moment, so it is almost inevitable that some of those with money in their pocket may start looking at F1.
And, with countries now starting to recover from the effects they have felt of the pandemic, the time is getting nearer for businessmen like Lo to get involved in F1 on the ground floor before America and South America become more heavily involved.
There are reportedly plans for F1 to return to Shanghai when it is safe to do so, although the pit complex there is currently being used as a medical facility – Formula1news.co.uk has contacted the Shanghai International Circuit for a comment on that situation.
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From what he has seen of the pinnacle of motorsport, Lo observes that good teams have entered the sport, but have been caught out by the complexities of building a consistently quick race car.
With money available, Lo gave an indication that Asian investment in a new or existing team could be on the cards.
“A lot of people, me included, are still looking to other teams, other opportunities, because…there are consistently good teams but they are not able to come up with the right car,” he told Reuters.
“In Asia right now there is a lot of liquidity sitting around, it’s mind-blowing, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next news you hear… is maybe some consortium in Asia investing into some other teams.”
Any new team that Lo would be part of would have to pay at least $200 million due to the dilution a new team causes to the prize pool, but Red Bull boss Christian Horner has indicated that, in today’s climate, a bigger entry fee is needed to offset the imbalance.
This is something Michael Andretti is having trouble with at the moment as he tries to enter a team for the 2024 season.