A1 boss casts an eye towards F1

October 12, 2007

By Alan Baldwin

London, England - A1GP boss Tony Teixeira is interested in buying into Formula 1 after securing a deal with champion Ferrari to power his own series.

The South African businessman said on Thursday: "I'm looking around. I've been speaking to two or three teams that are maybe for sale.

"If I find the right deal that makes sense and it's the right price and I think that I can get up to the top 10 positions in F1 - I'm not going to do it to come last - then I'll make a deal," he added.

Toro Rosso and Spyker are each Ferrari-powered, although the latter has just been sold for $124-million (about R835-million) to a consortium led by Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya and Dutch entrepreneur Michiel Mol

'If I find the right deal that makes sense and it's the right price - then I'll make a deal'
.

Toro Rosso is half-owned by Austrian energy drink billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, who also owns the Red Bull team, and Austria's former Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger.

It showed its potential when German rookie Sebastian Vettel finished fourth in the Chinese GP on October 7.

Teixeira confirmed that Toro Rosso was a prospect, saying he had stepped aside in favour of Mallya at struggling.

"I want to be as close to the pinnacle of motorsport as I can," he said. "We don't want to be playing with it. If I do get involved with an F1 team, it will be as an insider."

Teixeira said A1, with its emphasis on driver skill rather than technology, would never be a rival to Formula 1 but could become more of a feeder series. - Reuters

Source: http://www.motoring.co.za