JUNE 1, 2005

Wheldon and Formula 1

Even before he won the Indianapolis 500 Dan Wheldon was looking to a future in Formula 1 racing. His manager Julian Jakobi has been trying to find him a ride in F1 for some weeks as it has been clear since the start of the IRL season that Wheldon is going to be a major player in the series and will thus be in the right place to make a play for an F1 drive next year. Jakobi has been working quietly away at BAR Honda which could be looking for a driver for next season. Jenson Button is likely to be off to Williams (one hesitates to say BMW Williams these days) and that leaves BAR with a hole to fill. The option is to go for an experienced F1 racer such as David Coulthard, Rubens Barrichello or Nick Heidfeld or take a risk and go for a young riskier talent. A racer who is not in F1 is always a risk but a man of Wheldon's experience must be seen as a potential player in the F1 game.

Wheldon, who raced Jenson Button and Anthony Davidson in karting in his youth, says he would love to be in F1 but only if it is with a decent team.