LONDON: With Bahrain and Abu Dhabi regular staging posts, the Middle East is establishing itself as an important destination on the Formula One calendar.
But while the region is a hub for high-octane races it has never actually produced a driver for the world’s most renowned motor-racing series. But Dubai-born Briton Ed Jones is out to change all that.
The 23-year-old is busy making a name for himself in IndyCar — in his debut season last year, he was named Rookie of the Year after finishing 14th. And he has since underscored his ambition by moving to the Chip Ganassi Racing team, which has won an event-leading seven championships since IndyCar’s 1996 inauguration.
“I’ve moved up to a bigger and more successful team and the goal’s got to be to win races, especially after finishing third in the Indy 500 last year,” said Jones, who progressed to IndyCar after winning its junior Indy Lights series in 2016.
“I think top six in the championship would be amazing in the first year with this team. But there’s a lot of work to do and if I feel like I’ve given all I have, that’s all you can do.”
The sky certainly seems the limit for Jones, who began his racing career in a go-kart at the age of four at Jebel Ali in Dubai. Success swiftly followed as Jones accelerated through various racing classes; he won the 2013 European F3 Open Championship and competed against Red Bull’s rising F1 star, Max Verstappen, in the FIA European Formula Three Championship in 2014.
But do not expect him to be going wheel to wheel with Verstappen in F1 just yet, describing it as “not the most enjoyable series.”
“For me, in IndyCar you can make a great career and it’s very competitive and close and it’s more suited to my style of racing,” explained Jones. “In the first race (of the season) at St. Petersburg, we had something like 380 overtakes. The total overtakes in the F1 season last year amounted to about 500. That just highlights the difference.
“IndyCar is more of a raw, pure form of motorsport.
“We don’t have any power steering — Formula One has that — and we don’t have any assist with the brakes. It’s a lot more toward the old school of racing.
“I feel like if I was in a Mercedes (in Formula One), I’d be fighting at the front as well.”
Not that Jones is putting himself in the bracket of Mercedes’ four-time reigning world champion, Lewis Hamilton, just yet.
“He’s one of the best of all time and I have a huge amount of respect for him,” he said.
Now Jones is keen to be recognized and revered in the same vein — as a motor-racing pioneer in the country that nurtured him.
“I’ve always been proud of representing the UAE because I was born there, I grew up there, I started go-karting and racing there and went to school and everything,” the former Dubai English Speaking College and Dubai College pupil said.
“For me, it’s important that I represent my roots — there hasn’t been anyone very successful from the region in motorsport in open-wheel racing, so it’s great to be the first one to be up there.
“I hope I can do more to encourage more young drivers in the region to take part and follow a similar route.”
Jones insisted the UAE has all the resources to create a future champion in whatever series it wants.
“There was only one racing track (at Jebel Ali) when I started and now there are multiple ones. Hopefully the government and the local population will start to support more drivers. Funding is a big part of Formula One and obviously there are a lot of great drivers, but it’s normally the best-funded ones that succeed.”
For now, however, Jones is fully focused on individual achievements.
He next races at the Phoenix Grand Prix next week, although May 27 is the most significant date in his diary. That is when the legendary Indy 500, the most attended single-day sporting event in the world with more than 350,000 spectators, will be held.
Jones finished third last year on his debut last year and said triumphing there represents his ultimate ambition.
“The atmosphere last year was crazy,” he said.
“You’re doing 230-240mph for three and a half hours and that’s a gruelling race which requires a lot of concentration. Things can be going so badly to so well in such a short amount of time and it’s a bit of a rollercoaster of a race.
“I’ve always dreamed of winning it and coming so close last year makes that feeling even stronger and I’m trying to do everything I can to make that happen.”
SIX MIDDLE EAST MOTOR-RACING STARS
YASIR SEAIDAN: The Saudi Arabian came third in the T2 category of the world-famous Dakar Rally in 2016 and is competing in his third season of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.
SAM SUNDERLAND: The Dubai-born British motorcycle rider shot to prominence by winning the Dakar Rally in 2017 — the first Briton to do so.
MOHAMMED BIN SULAYEM: One of the most successful Arab drivers in motorsport history, the Emirati claimed 14 FIA Middle East Rally Championship titles between 1986 and 2002.
NASSER AL-ATTIYAH: The Qatari rally driver won the Dakar Rally twice, in 2011 and 2015, and is a 13-time Middle East Rally champion.
HAMAD AL-FARDAN: The first Bahraini to drive in the GP2 Series, the feeder series for Formula One, in 2008-09.
AMNA AL-QUBAISI: The first female Emirati racing driver, and daughter of rally legend Khaled Al-Qubaisi, is currently competing in Formula 4.
