Hong Kong driver Adderly Fong offered F1 reserve seat - but at a huge cost
Fong must find 3m euros sponsorship if he wants to join a team, believed to be Marussia
Hong Kong's Adderly Fong Cheun-yue has been offered a reserve seat with a Formula One outfit - believed to be Marussia - but it comes at a hefty price tag: 3 million euros (HK$31 million).
The 24-year-old up-and-coming racing driver finished competing in the GP3 series, a feeder series to Formula One, two weeks ago in Hockenheim, Germany. Unable to complete a full season because of a limited budget, he finished the series without a single point.
I'm very happy to have been given the offer. It's finding the sponsorship that brings me to the next level. For sure, it will be difficult to find [financial] backing
Fong said he has been offered a reserve seat, believed to be with the UK-based Anglo-Russian team, for the 2015 season but he must come up with massive funding to make it all happen.
No Chinese driver has raced in Formula One, although China's Ma Qinghua came close last year when he took part in Friday practice for F1 team Caterham at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai and had F1 testing as a development driver with HRT.
Fong knows he faces a huge challenge.
"I'm very happy to have been given the offer. It's finding the sponsorship that brings me to the next level. For sure, it will be difficult to find [financial] backing. It probably won't be personal sponsorship but more corporate backing if I do get support," said Fong, who has raced in Europe since he was a teenager.