F1 Dreams

To young Lebanese driver Basil Shaaban, the statistic is as startling as it is sobering. And, moreover, one he is determined to change. In October last year, he launched Shaaban2F1, a fully developed, detailed programme to get him from the seat of his Team Lebanon car all the way to motoracing big time – and into the history books. With logo, media kits, targets, big-name endorsement and flashy website, it may seem more like a introductory pack to a new bank account, but in this sport, and perhaps this sport only, talent is only half the battle. In fact, it might even be less than that. To get a coveted seat in a car at practically any level of single-seater racing requires one thing above all – money. And in motorport that means sponsors waiting to pay the bills.

 

Shaaban2F1 is basically an investment trust, an appeal to backers and sponsors from across the world, not just the Arab world, to help a young, hungry racer achieve his dream of starting on the same grid as Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikonen. Back me now, it asks, and you’ll be a genuine motorsport pioneer. “The harsh reality is that unless you have financial support, no one will even look at you in this sport,” says Basil, taking shelter from a freakish Dubai sandstorm on a rare weekend off. “In order to show teams that I am a quick, intelligent and capable driver, I first need to show that I have the finance to earn a seat in the car. Shaaban2F1 is a brand that will hopefully attract people who can help me achieve my goals.”

 

“That’s the difference between football or rugby and motorsport. With football, you just a ball and a patch of grass to practice. In F1, you need the backing and opportunity to develop your motorsport skills, to hone your talent, to develop experience of handling cars at those speeds.

 

“Motorsport is ultimately the fusion of man and machine,” he continues. “And that’s usually the difference between success and failure. In Australia, Lewis Hamilton needed one of the best cars on the track to get to the podium; I’m not saying he didn’t deserve it, but if his first F1 drive was in a Spyker, there would have been no fanfare, hype or anything. He would have come 17th no matter how he drove.”

 

Hearing Shaaban talk about his sport, about the high-speed judgements required, about the qualities of his hero Michael Schumacher, about the freakish response of a car at 315kmh, the determination to make it is written in every smile. Even when he recounts his worst accident – an outside-rear tire failure at Snetterton that threw him into the air, flipping the car over twice before landing right-side up – there is a sense of schoolboy wonder. 

“I use to get all manner of weird reactions when I said I wanted to be an F1 driver,” he says, that smile again bursting across his face. “Most of them were like ‘Why don’t you get a proper job?’, you know, the typical Arab response! But since Bahrain, people understand the skills involved and the scale of the sport. Now, it’s 99 per cent positive. Of the one per cent, it’s almost always someone born in the first half of the 20th century!”

Pacing around the track in Dubai Auto Club track, Basil Shaaban knows this is the arena for him. Where, we ask by way of a conclusion, will he be in five years time, and after a slight pause, he says with absolute clarity: “Gearing up for my best F1 year yet.”

 

For the full version of this article, see NOX09.