Speculation is swirling over the entry of a potential 11th team on the Formula One grid in 2026, as a project with a Gulf country is in the works.
The proposal, titled ‘Formula Equal’, is reportedly set to be backed by a Middle Eastern nation, with rumours that it could be Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Motorsport Federation President Prince Khalid told RacingNews365 that “it’s too early” to confirm whether they are involved in the project, refusing to discuss any details.
Speaking to American news outlet CNN, Pollock claimed “we are in intense discussions with, I would just say, a Gulf area country.
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“I’m not really in the position to talk about that and be fully open about it at this present time – that will come out in the very near future. And I just hope it’s going to work because it does take a lot of money,” he continued.
The plan put forward by Pollock is to build the “first Formula One team that is truly outside of Europe.”
“This has to be built from the bottom up in a Gulf state and this is what we are aiming to do. This is a long-term project – this is not short-term.”
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The idea behind ‘Formula Equal’ would be to create a team that is 50% male and 50% female in the garage and in the driving seats.
Given the vision behind the project, Pollock acknowledges it’s hard to do with an existing team, requiring them to design a new entry.
“Obviously that is linked to equality, diversity, inclusion, and sustainability. This is not a question of me going to [a Gulf state]…. it’s them having come to us because we have a turnkey operation with the business plan, with all the costings, with everything ready to go.”