MARCH 5, 2004

Formula 1 teams chase Chinese money

The Formula 1 teams have long been keen to tap into potential sponsors from the People's Republic of China but to date have found it very difficult to land any big fish because the benefits of Formula 1 sponsorship have yet to be fully understood by the captains of Chinese industry. That will take time but in the meantime the F1 teams have been busy trying to built up contacts. Last year Shanghai International Circuit and China Central Television were supporting Jordan but this year they have moved on to support Williams. Jordan, for his part, has signed a deal to promote and develop the B&Q brand in China. B&H is a British home improvement company which is trying to make inroads into the Chinese market increasing its total of stores in China in 2004 to 23.