Analysis: Wilson Offers F1 Fans a Fast Profit

Justin Wilson could be just the man for Formula One fans looking for a Christmas gift with a difference - or simply seeking a fast profit.

The newest and tallest recruit to join Michael Schumacher on the 2003 Grand Prix grid is being presented as a double-your-money investment opportunity. A stake in the Minardi driver could even be bought for as little as $160, the sort of money that Ferrari's World Champion Schumacher can earn in the blink of a eye.

The 24-year-old Briton has had to pay the cash-strapped team for his big chance, at least two million pounds according to some sources, with part provided by individual investors. His manager Jonathan Palmer now hopes to recoup some of the costs by persuading ordinary fans to take a gamble on the 2001 Formula 3000 champion as well.

"We all know the multi-million dollar salaries that drivers can earn," the former Grand Prix driver said this week. "The potential is to come up with schemes whereby people who invest in drivers can then get a return later on, and that's what we're doing with Justin.

"I want to make it so that people can put in a relatively small amount of money, maybe down to 100 pounds, and they will then have a part of Justin Wilson," he added. "People that put money into Justin on an enterprise investment scheme will be in line for a 200 percent return on investment if he's successful."

Motivated Club

The 'If' is important, since Formula One is littered with failures and Wilson's backers have no guarantee of any return, but Palmer is optimistic.

"I really think we can create a big club of motivated people who want to own a part of a driver essentially," he said. "They can follow him and...as a real surprise in motor racing, actually make it work for them financially and get a good return out of him."

Wilson accepts that he might not earn any significant money for three or four years but intends to make the most of his chance with a tail-end team hoping for upsets in 2003. His share scheme may be a novelty but Wilson is following a well-trodden route into Formula One.

Few drivers have made it on talent alone and money and sponsorship have always played a part in the equation, even for some of the greatest. Just ask Schumacher, whose first drive in the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix came only after a sizeable cheque had been handed over to Eddie Jordan.

The German's obvious brilliance ensured that no further payments would be necessary, Benetton snapping him up and setting him on the road to becoming the sport's biggest earner. But others have struggled to move on, sometimes handicapped by being seen as someone who had to pay for the ride.

"As soon as you are a paying driver, you are a paying driver forever so we are never going to pay for a drive," Briton Anthony Davidson, who drove for Minardi twice last season, said recently.

Wilson at least has a record of success that marks him out from past 'pay drivers' such as Brazilian Pedro Diniz or Malaysian Alex Yoong, who brought crucial sponsorship to Minardi last season. Palmer sees paying as a simple fact of life, particularly in the current economic climate with Jordan also looking for their second driver to bring significant backing.

"The fact is that most drivers when they come into Formula One end up bringing some sponsorship budget with them. It's not unreasonable," he said.

Double Payback

"That's how it was with me back in 1984. I'd won the Formula Three championship, the Formula Two championship but I certainly didn't sit there and think I should be entitled to a Formula One drive because of my successes.

"To get into Formula One I had to bring a quarter of a million pounds to RAM. And that was a lot of money then. I raised half of it through sponsorship and I borrowed the other half. I went to somebody and said 'look, I need 100,000 pounds. If you can lend me that, I'll double your money. And he lent me that and I did double his money."

Palmer went on to score points with Tyrrell, finishing fifth in the 1987 Monaco Grand Prix and fourth in Australia.

"We're not talking magic here but I do think there will be quite a few races where people will look at Wilson in a Minardi and think 'that's a pretty impressive performance'," he said. "I think there will be plenty of signs of something special coming out of the package and people thinking this team and driver deserve to move on."