Shaaban: A1 GP will get stronger

Shaaban, who led a race for the first time in the Australian round of the series at Eastern Creek last November, believes the crowd will start to regularly attend races in future seasons.

The inaugural round of the series at Brands Hatch attracted a sell-out race-day crowd, however other rounds have not quite matched the same figures.

"I know A1 Grand Prix would have liked to be able to promote themselves a bit more, and there is a long term promotional programme," Shaaban said on the main stage of the Autosport International Show.

"A1 GP is still finding its feet and as time goes on, the promotional side of things will get stronger, and more spectators will find out about it.

"I think fundamentally the concept of up-and-coming talents who want to make it into Formula One, combined with the battle of egos between countries, is a tremendous challenge and is attractive.

"[The A1 GP cars] are beautiful machines and what is making the sport grow is the excitement it has provided in just the first year."