‘Pissed off’ Aussie tycoon still wants slice of F1 action

Australian technology billionaire David Dicker is “pretty pissed off about not getting into F1” writes Will Jefferies.

Dicker’s Rodin Cars, which builds the 3.8-litre Cosworth V8 FZED open-wheeler and full-bodied 4-litre V10 turbo hybrid FZERO ‘ultimate track cars’ in New Zealand, was among three unsuccessful applicants that recently sought Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) imprimatur to join F1.

The only applicant approved by the FIA was America’s Andretti Cadillac, but even it is not guaranteed to get on the grid.

Dicker – head of Dicker Data and the majority shareholder in top British junior team Carlin since early this year – conceded that buying into an existing F1 team was probably more achievable than starting a new one.

David Dicker ahead of a Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific race at the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix.

He says he has looked at buying into Sauber (which has been branded Alfa Romeo since 2019), Haas, Williams and most recently the Red Bull-owned AlphaTauri (previously Scuderia Toro Rosso and originally Minardi, owned for the last five years of that incarnation by Aussie
Paul Stoddart).

However, Dicker says a valuation of US$800-900 million (A$1.25-1.4 billion) on AlphaTauri does not make sense to him.

“I have had some talks about buying AlphaTauri, but the price is commercially unviable as far as I could understand it,” Dicker told Racer.com.

“I would (buy the team) if I thought there was a viable route, but paying US$800-900million for it would probably not be considered commercially viable.

“Just got to see if there’s possibilities … (but) you’ve got to look at these things in commercial terms.

David Dicker was in the frame to take over Williams in 2020. Photo by Mark Sutton / Sutton Images

“The F1 guys are experts on the motorsport side, but on the business side I’m not so sure. “I’ve had a few people talk about this and that, but nothing tremendously concrete.

“I do have a couple of things that I might get a bit more info on in the next week or two about some possibilities there, but the value proposition is weak.

“I do have a project that I’m working on. It’s interesting and exciting, but I can’t talk about it quite yet, because I haven’t quite got it.

“But let me put it this way, I’m pretty pissed off about not getting into F1, so I’m not just going to go away and sulk.

“That’s just the way that I am. You want to do things, and that’s what life’s about. You just try to do them.

“And if you can’t do it one way, then look for another way, or other ways, of doing things.”

David Dicker driving in a Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific round at the 2018 Australian Grand Prix.

Dicker – almost 70 and who splits his time between Sydney, NZ, Europe and Dubai – claims to have been in the frame to acquire Williams in 2020.

“I made a mistake when Williams was for sale, because I could have bought that pretty easily,” he says.

“I didn’t read the strategic landscape correctly on that with the way we made the bid, which in hindsight was obviously a mistake, but there it goes.

“I had a lot of talks about buying Williams – saw all the numbers and sat through presentations and made them an offer and everything – and I’ve had a few guys talking about other teams from time to time.

“Mostly Sauber and Haas, which have more or less been on and off the market for years, and could have probably been bought for much lower numbers that made a lot more sense.

British F4 Kiwi Louis Sharp leads the championship for Rodin Carlin. Image: British F4

“Like I said, I probably screwed that (Williams) up.”

Part of Dicker’s F1 plan has been to field a female driver, most probably British woman Jamie Chadwick, a three-time winner of the now-defunct Formula W championship.

While Andretti Cadillac has the FIA’s blessing to progress towards F1 it now needs to enter commercial discussions with Formula One Management (FOM) and faces stiff resistance from the existing 10 teams.

Main image by Louis Sharp Motorsport

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