Quote:
Originally posted by Maxmil
A lamentable development. All we need now is for governments to begin to sponsor F 1 teams and to secure driving seats for their citizens in the process. (Actually, is Yooung a Malaysian? I just assumed so,) Can you imagine Iran and Iraq dicing for the lead on the last laps of the British GP? With Saddam IV versus the Young Ayatollah for the WDC? Maybe Bernie will ban them and justify his own position as Absolute Ruler and Temporal Lord of Internal Combustion. Ah me, what a way to start off the morning.
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Wait a moment. Malaysia goverment is sponsoring F1 since mid-90s. They don't sponsorize only Sauber, they also sponsored Stewart GP during 1997-98. About Yoong, Malaysia goverment sponsored him since his F3 days during 1998. Malaysia is a country with no much development in motorsport, so he decided sponsoring Yoong to promote the motorsport in and for his country.
Actually Malaysia wasn't the only goverment what sponsored in F1 to promote his drivers. Also Argentinian goverment sponsorized national teams and drivers in F1 on the late 40s and in the beginning of the 70s, starting with the support to ACA national team of Maseratis (later Ferraris) of Juan Manuel Fangio and Benedicto Campos during 1949, and finishing with the support to Carlos Reutemann in his beginning years in Europe (1970-72). Other countries don't need sponsorize his drivers because there are enterprises what decided sponsor local drivers in the name of this nation. Examples are YPF for Argentina (before the bought of Repsol), Petrobras for Brazil, Ancap for Uruguay, and Lukoil for Russia.