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Mansell: A1 GP lacking big names

Former World Champion Nigel Mansell believes that A1 GP's lack of big names is what's stopping the series from reaching the crowds

Mansell's comments come after similar remarks from FIA president Max Mosley, who said the concept behind the championship, in which countries compete against each other, was flawed.

"First of all I think any new series is great for motorsport, I think the concept has been very good," Mansell said on Thursday. "With hindsight being 20-20, the concept with the GP Masters drivers in them - I think they would have had a sensational series.

"No disrespect to the countries but we don't know a lot of their drivers and I think it could have been a huge success. I hope they continue, I think it is good for motorsport. I hope GP Masters continues, I think that is good for motorsport too, but we will just have to wait and see.

"There are a lot of people who are very unhappy with A1 GP and a few who are unhappy with Grand Prix Masters, and you know all the powers-that-be and if you don't have the support then a lot of things can get torpedoed."

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has also being critical of the A1 GP concept, saying he lost interest in being a partner in the series after he found out about the method the championship would use to finance itself.

"Many series were born because all of a sudden many thought that managing a team was a very easy thing," Ecclestone told Autosprint. "Look at A1 GP: the idea of racing in Asia during the winter was good. They asked for my opinion: I told them it could work provided they used GP2 cars.

"There could have been an Asian, a European and an American championship, and then a nice final battle, like the Super Bowl. It would have been practical and we would have had a single formula to assess the drivers' potential because now, with all these series, you can't figure out who are the most gifted drivers.

"They offered me to join their company, but when I saw that they wanted to build their own cars, that their championship would have financed itself through the sale of the licenses and a percentage on the various teams' sponsorships, then I told them I wasn't interested."

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