Fans of motor racing series Formula 1 have always sought after some form of national pride amongst the roaring engines, and blasting echoes when each car drives past.
Our neighbours over at Malaysia, have had companies adorning Formula 1 cars for many years, Petronas being the most prominent, and also saw the opportunity to see a local driver racing the famous circuits in Alex Yoong. In this year’s Formula 1 season, Indonesians have enjoyed the pride of having a local driver on the track too, when Rio Haryanto made his debut in the Australian Grand Prix earlier in March.
We have quite a lot of catching up to do, to develop our motor sports heritage, and hopefully soon we can see a Singaporean behind the wheel of a Formula 1. In the mean time, what we could at least count on is that, one of the many internationally renowned Singaporean companies could come forward, and place their names on a car.
Acronis Steps Up
Acronis’ boss, Serguei Beloussov, wishes to do just that. The Russian-born, Singaporean businessman announced his intentions last week, that his company will be providing not just financial support, but also their technical expertise as well, to Formula 1 team Scuderia Toro Rosso. The support will come under one condition, that both driver, Daniil Kvyat and Team Principal, Franz Tost continue to stay with the team. The head of Scuderia Toro Rosso is both highly respected for his leadership and vision. He is best known as the mentor to a young Ralf Schumacher, and later both went on to join the Williams Formula 1 team in 2000.
In case you are unfamiliar, Acronis is a global data protection company, with a presence in over 145 countries worldwide, and a full range of data protection features, including migration, cloning and replication. The tech savvy professionals of you may have used at least one of their products, that being, Acronis True Image. Its a full disk image backup software that you can use to restore fully your computer’s operating system, especially after repairs or parts replacement.
Partnering Daniil Kvyat
Acronis has had a long standing relationship with Daniil Kvyat, ever since he first made his debut for Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2014, being the youngest driver in that season. As of 5th May, Daniil is back at the team he first started with, after swapping cockpits with Max Verstappen, who has now gone the other way to Red Bull Racing. He will now be racing with teammate Carlos Sainz Jr, son of former rally driver Carlos Sainz.
Although he professes that he is not a Formula 1 expert, Mr Beloussov has said that “Daniil will feel more comfortable in Toro Rosso” as they are “hungry for pure racing” and “believes in their success as well as in Daniil himself.”
Will you be looking forward to seeing the logo of one of Singapore’s largest IT company on the side of a Torro Rosso Formula 1 car?
We sure do.
Image Credit: Acronis & Scuderia Toro Rosso
