We’ve been here before, of course. Multiple times in fact. Talks of reviving the A1GP ‘World Cup of Motorsport’ since its demise in 2009 have invariably led to nothing down the years, the closest thing to a resurrection coming in the form of the even more short-lived Formula Acceleration 1 series won by Dutchman Nigel Melker in 2014. It’s fair to say that championship, which used the original Lola-built A1GP cars and unashamedly copied its concept of racing under national flags, never mustered comparable enthusiasm to the original that began in 2005.
This counted on the support of world champions John Surtees, Emerson Fittipaldi and Alan Jones who were each involved in the operation and/or management of their respective national teams, and brought through numerous up-and-coming talents during its four-year run. A1GP’s adoption of a new Ferrari-powered chassis and the resulting increase in cost which coincided with the global financial crisis hitting in 2008-09 was a significant contributing factor in its demise, but the mooted reboot for high-powered single-seaters is thought to have to the best prospects yet for success.
