AUGUST 20, 2003

Abramovich sniffing around F1

As we exclusively reported just after the European Grand Prix, the time Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has been looking at investing in Formula 1 in addition to his recent spending spree with Chelsea Football Club in London. Abramovich was a guest of Bernie Ecclestone at the Nurburgring but his interest in F1 has been brought into the spotlight by the England team's manager Sven-Goran Eriksson who remarked that "It was a big surprise to me when he bought Chelsea. What I knew was that he was going into football and maybe Formula 1."

There is no evidence that Abramovich will actually decide to invest in the sport although he may see Grand Prix racing as a good way to raise the profile of the oil company which he controls.