Toronto mogul plans F1 team. Your thoughts?

Toronto mogul plans F1 team
Russian-born Canadian currently building Toronto's Trump Tower

BILL BEACON
CANADIAN PRESS

A Toronto businessman announced plans today to enter a start-up team in Formula One racing called Midland F-1 in 2006.

Russian-born Alexander Shnaider, chairman of Midland Group, which does extensive business in Russia and the former Soviet Union, said the team will begin racing at the 2006 Australian Grand Prix.

He said the team has been accepted by F-1 officials, including series boss Bernie Ecclestone.

The chassis is to be built by Italian manufacturer Dallara. Midland hopes to announce engine and tire suppliers in January or February and begin testing their car by September. They also need to hire drivers and other staff.

Like many F-1 teams, it is to be based in England.

"Midland is prepared to fund the development of the team entirely, but our unique position will help us attract sponsors," Shnaider said today in Toronto. "Basic survival in F-1 requires an annual budget of $100 million and we're prepared for that."

Shnaider, 36, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, but moved to the west as an infant. He is a Canadian citizen and has lived on and off in Toronto since 1982.

In 1994, he co-founded Midland, an international trading and investment company operating mainly in eastern Europe and Asia. Its administration offices are in Toronto, Great Britain and Switzerland and it is registered in the English Channel island of Guernsey.

Midland is currently building a hotel and apartment complex in downtown Toronto for Trump International.

Shnaider said the team will have a "Russian flavour." He hopes to hire the sport's first Russian driver and help land an F-1 race for that country.

"I do hope eventually there will be a Grand Prix in Russia," he said. "It's a large market with a growing middle class and a lot of international companies are looking at it as a future market."

He said there are Russian drivers in development series in Europe and "if we find one with a bright future, we'll take him as a test driver."

He has no plans to get involved with the Canadian Grand Prix, other than to race his cars at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal, and will not necessarily hire a Canadian driver.

"I will attend the Canadian Grand Prix this year but I'm not involved in any way," he said. "I think it's good that Canada has a Grand Prix."

The company found F-1 to be an ideal marketing platform.

"Our research into coverage of different sports showed that only three events met our criteria for international exploitation: The Olympic Games, World Cup Soccer and Formula One," he said.

"As the other two are quadrennial, F-1 was the natural fit. Midland's involvement is market-driven. And so is the determination to build a team from scratch as opposed to buying an existing one."

He noted there are new F-1 races in Bahrain and China and another is to be added next year in Turkey, further broadening the sport's reach. F-1 races are watched by an estimated 162 million people around the world.

Ford is to drop out of F-1 at the end of this season, leaving only nine teams. Midland would be the first new team since Toyota in 2002.

BAR-Honda joined F-1 in 1999 and took five years to become one of the top teams. Shnaider said he would be happy with that time frame for his team.

"I think what BAR-Honda has achieved is tremendous and I'll be happy if we have that success," he said. "We plan in our first year to be in the middle of the field, something like Sauber is now. "

Dallara built cars for the Scurderia Italia team from 1988 to 1992 and also built a chassis for Honda in 1998. It also has cars in the Indy Racing League.


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