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A1 as national competition
In 2004, Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum raised the idea of an A1GP Championship. Various countries could compete in an accessible but above all exciting competition. His suggestion was to hold both a sprint and feature race, putting the emphasis on speed as well as tactics. The idea was warmly received around the world and a number of countries quickly expressed an interest in taking part. Sheikh Maktoum and his business partner Tony Teixeira worked hard on the realisation of their plans; Sheikh Maktoum dealing with the organisation of the championships while Tony Teixeira concentrated his efforts on raising sponsorship interest for the project. The first A1 Grand Prix took place on September 25th 2005 with Great Britain hosting the championship. Both the sprint and feature race were won by France, with Nelson Piquet Jr. at the wheel.
 
Change of name and greener image
Before the second season, the official name A1 Grand Prix of Nations was changed to A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. This title better reflected the ethos of the championship, with the emphasis being more on the competitive element between the participating countries. For the 2008/2009 season the tag “Powered by Ferrari” was added. The world famous manufacturer had signed a contract with the official organisation to be exclusive supplier of all chassis and engines. An important feature of this development is the emphasis on a greener image. A1GP, more than any other motor sport, is focused on being more environmentally friendly and only so-called ‘biofuel’ is used in the tanks of the A1 cars.
 
A1GP and F1
A1GP differs from Formula 1 in several important respects: countries compete against each other rather than brands, points relate to the sprint as well as the feature race and the emphasis is on the car rather than the individual driver. Each team has an allocated car and can choose between two drivers in the course of the competition. Unlike Formula 1 all the cars are built by the A1 organisation itself and they all have the same chassis and engine. Aficionados of the sport maintain that this makes it a much fairer competition; each participant having an equal chance. They say that in their most important counterpart, Formula 1, winning or losing depends more on the amount of money available to a team or sponsor than anything else.
 
The Ticket Enterprise sees A1GP as an individual race category, and doesn’t necessarily agree that it should be compared with Formula 1. Both have their charms. We leave it to you to decide which of these two motor sports you find the most appealing.