“Guarantee to put a woman in the seat,” Rodin Carlin makes big promises, considers F1 entry with New-Zealand based team

David Dicker claims Rodin Carlin has all the equipment needed to build a car.


“Guarantee to put a woman in the seat,” Rodin Carlin makes big promises, considers F1 entry with New-Zealand based team

Rodin Carlin. (Image via Autoweek.)

Some of the most successful Formula 1 drivers like Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, George Russell and Nico Rosberg have driven for Rodin Carlin at some point in their careers. Rodin Carlin runs F2, F3, and F4 teams. They also have an entry in the new F1 Academy. The team is now considering an F1 entry bid with a New Zealand-based team and a woman driver.

David Dicker, the Australian businessman, has set up the Rodin car company. It produces single seater and has F1 level of performance. Dicker also funded Jamie Chadwick, the three-time W Series champion in her racing career. He would be more than happy to put her in the car. The entrepreneur told Motor Sport Magzine he had the resources ($500m) to fund the F1 entry bid.

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Dicker stated, “We’ll make the whole car here and we guarantee to put a woman in one of the seats. We’d be the only team that’s got a full junior programme. We’ve been covering the entire spectrum from F4 all the way up to F2 and no one else is even close to doing it.” The cars would be designed and built in New Zealand with their own power units. 

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Related: Formula One teams push to increase Michael Andretti’s F1 entry fee to a whopping $600 Million

David Dicker believes a New Zealand-based team would help expand F1

Rodin Carlin. Image via Speedsport Magazine.
Rodin Carlin. (Image via Speedsport Magazine)

The Rodin Carlin Chairman added, “A lot of people would be really interested in getting a team that was based in New Zealand into the F1 programme. It’d do a lot for Formula 1.” Dicker believes this would expand Formula 1’s presence globally. This is because most of the grid has British-based teams. But he has not decided what he wants to do yet. 

Formula 1 has 10 teams, and the maximum limit is 12. The FIA opened applications for new F1 teams in January. The applicants had to pay a $20,000 admin fee. They set April end as the deadline for the entries. The final decision will be taken by the end of June. However, they are not obliged to accept any applicants.

The Formula One Management (FOM) will have to approve the new entrants. But, the F1 teams do not want to expand the grid. They claim it will dilute the prize money which is split between the existing teams. Therefore, the new entrants must pay $200m to compensate for the dilution of the F1 profit. The teams now value themselves highly due to the increase in F1’s popularity. And David Dicker has all the resources to enter the sport. But he has been oscillating back and forth on whether to apply. 

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