Formula One world championship poised to launch team based in Gulf

The Formula One world championship could soon have a team based in the Gulf, a former racing boss has said.

Former team chief Craig Pollock revealed he has been working for four years on a new plan to return to the sport with a team in which the workforce is split 50-50 between men and women.

The Scottish-born businessman has refused to say exactly where the team would be based, but the news comes shortly after F1 governing body, the FIA, announced it would be accepting at least one more team to the 10-outfit grid from 2025.

And Pollock revealed he had thrown his hat into the ring and is awaiting news.

Given the complexities of converting an existing operation to his project called Formula Equal, he told CNN it would be easier to start from scratch.

The former ski instructor managed Jacques Villeneuve to titles in F1 and its American equivalent, Indycar, as well as the Indy 500.

He was part of the consortium that turned the ailing Tyrrell team into BAR. It then became Honda before the transfer of ownership into two famous world championship winning outfits based at Brackley in England.

The first was Brawn, which won the world title with Jenson Button in 2009, before it morphed into Mercedes and, with Lewis Hamilton on board, became the most successful operation of modern times, winning seven straight constructors' championships and made the British ace No 1 six times.

Pollock has said all areas of the team will be split equally so that should mean he is aiming to have one female Grand Prix driver as well.

He admitted it could cost around $1 billion to break into the world’s fastest – and most expensive – sport.

“We are in intense discussions with, I would just say, a Gulf area country,” said Pollock.

“I'm not really in