Pollock confirms he plans to return to F1 with a new “equal-sex” team RaceFans
Former British American Racing Formula 1 team principal Craig Pollock has confirmed he plans to return to the sport with a new team in 2026.
Earlier this year, the FIA opened entries for new F1 teams in 2025, 2026 or 2027. Pollock plans to apply for his new project called Equality formula.
He intends the team to include an equal division between the sexes at all levels. “The concept and idea was to try and create a 50% male and 50% female F1 team, which is extremely difficult to do when you have an existing F1 team.” he told CNN. “It’s much easier with a blank sheet of paper.”
The FIA has previously indicated that it will confirm at the end of next month whether any potential new F1 teams have been selected. Among the criteria against which they will be judged are “sustainability considerations, EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) and social benefit.”
Pollock’s project is rumored to have been backed by Saudi Arabia, which has joined the F1 calendar in 2021 with a race in Jeddah. The country is looking to expand its participation in motorsport and has also hosted Formula E and the Dakar Rally Raid in recent years.
Pollock with Villeneuve in 2003. The president of the country’s motorsport federation, Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al Faisal, said in January that he was interested in bringing teams to the country. Pollock said he plans to create “the first F1 team to actually be outside of Europe.”
“This has to be built from the bottom up in the Gulf State and that is what we are aiming for,” he said. “This is a long-term project, not a short-term one.”
As for the source of his funding, Pollock said his company is “in intensive negotiations” with “a country located in the Gulf region.”
Previously, Pollock managed 1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve. He formed the BAR team, with the support of British American Tobacco, which competed in the 1999 World Championship with Villeneuve as one of its two drivers. Pollock was replaced at the head of the team at the end of the third season of competition.
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