Surtees: F1 teams snubbed A1

Surtees spoke to officials in these companies teams last year, when he was trying to recruit potential drivers for the British A1 team, but his requests to run any of McLaren's or BAR's drivers were turned down.

Surtees eventually recruited former British F3 champion Robbie Kerr and former McLaren BRDC award winner Alex Lloyd for his team, who were both without regular drives at the time.

"I had Alex and Robbie available but I had to bear in my mind who was performing well at the time," Surtees said at the Autosport International Show.

"I spoke to Mercedes and McLaren and I spoke to BAR about releasing drivers that they have on some form of support, and the blank answer was 'no'.

"I'm not suggesting that any of them are any better than Robbie or Alex. But A1 drivers are racing in the winter and that can teach them an awful lot.

"A1 Grand Prix is not a rival to F1. It will provide something else that will come along with F1, and there will be a direct transfer of drivers to Formula One in the future.

"They all need the skill to win, and the top people who will win in A1 will not be any less skilled than they will be in F1."

Leading British drivers who have raced for Mercedes include DTM's Gary Paffett and Jamie Green. Lewis Hamilton is backed by McLaren.

BAR have Anthony Davidson in their F1 team, but also have a host of young British drivers, including Adam Carroll and James Rossiter. The latter having taken part in the A1 Team Great Britain's initial driver shootout.