SHANGHAI // China's first and only Formula One driver achiever another landmark yesterday just by taking part in his home grand prix weekend in Shanghai, saying he hopes to inspire a generation of fans and racers.
Ma Qinghua may have clocked the slowest time of the session, but when he took to the circuit during morning practice he became the only Chinese driver to have featured in a Chinese Grand Prix weekend, adding to a growing list of "firsts".
Ma, 25, a reserve driver for Caterham, brought up the rear just behind his teammate Giedo van der Garde.
His lap time appeared to matter little to home fans and media, who crowded round the Shanghai native, scrambling for his signature and posing for photos with their Formula One trailblazer.
"I hope I can be a big help for Chinese motorsport," Ma said. "It is a new sport in China and it's becoming very popular very fast. During these recent years we've seen more and more people watching the race and coming to the circuit.
"They've got their own idol driver now and I believe this weekend there will be lots of fans. They came to support me and I'm very happy for them."
Heavily backed financially by authorities in Shanghai, Ma featured in several testing sessions last year for now defunct HRT team.
Now with Caterham, he also races in the GP2 Series, a training ground for aspiring Formula One drivers.
Ma told reporters ahead of Sunday's race - in which he will not take part unless one of the lead drivers has to pull out - that these are boom times for motorsport in China.
"In the last five years there has been a lot of young people starting careers in professional motorsport and also we have more and more local championships in karting, touring cars and there's more people doing business in motorsport," he said.
Reflecting on how he first got into a sport that still does not have broad appeal in China, Ma recalled: "When I was seven there was one day my parents took me to play something at the weekend, but they saw a go-kart circuit near my home.
"At that time we didn't know what a go-kart was.
"After that I knew that Formula One was the top of motorsport, and I thought, 'Yes, I want to do that.'
"Remember, even now motorsport is very new in China, so when my parents were young they knew nothing about motorsport and nothing about Formula One."
Ma admitted that it was taking a little bit of time to get used to his new-found fame in China, especially in his home city.
"There has been a big change from last year to this year," he said. "I start having a bit of trouble to walk freely in the street. It has changed and it is changing all the time.
"But now I see more and more young Chinese people taking part in international races, in Britain, Europe and Asia, all over the world."
Tom Webb, the Caterham head of communications, conceded there were obvious commercial reasons in handing Ma a chance behind the wheel.
"Having drivers from anywhere where there are maturing markets is a good thing," he said.
"We also have Alexander Rossi [from the US] on our books and America, now hosting one of the most successful races that's been brought to Formula One in a long time, also needs that hero figure."
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Profile of Udrive
Date started: March 2016
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Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Groom and Two Brides
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Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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ICC Academy, November 22-28
UAE fixtures
Nov 22, v Malaysia
Nov 23, v Hong Kong
Nov 25, v Bhutan
Nov 26, v Kuwait
Nov 28, v Nepal
ICC T20I rankings
14. Nepal
17. UAE
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34. Kuwait
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Price, base: From Dh77,900
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Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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Rating: 3/5
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Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
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Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
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