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Bahrain's Hamad Al Fardan may have to put his F1 dreams on hold as he struggles to secure the necessary funding required to compete at the highest level.
Although the 21-year-old has recently renewed a BD25,000 sponsorship deal with long-time supporters Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) he will need a major sponsor to ensure he becomes the first Arab to race in Formula One.
Hamad is currently preparing for this weekend's final GP2 Asia adventure - part of the support race structure of the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.
Hamad said: "Bapco has been supporting me for the past five years. The company's backing has helped me a lot. They believe in me and that makes me want to work harder. I thank them for that.
"I am in a difficult situation right now due to a lack of major backing. I am still trying to secure a sponsor to complete another series of GP2 Main Series in Europe.
"My next race is set for the Spanish city of Barcelona on May 9 and 10 and I have to make sure I have enough funding by that time or else I will not be able to move forward.
"If I do not find the necessary funding I will have to put an end to my GP2 racing for this year.
"GFH (Gulf Finance House) is still my main sponsor for the GP2 Asia Series but once that is over I will need to attract another for Europe.
"But, it is not the end of the world. I may not get to F1 as quickly as I hoped but I will get there and will not stop until I do.
"In the meantime, I am putting all my focus on my last races in the GP2 Asia Series in Bahrain."
The GFH team iSport driver scored his first GP2 points in Malaysia at the Sepang International Circuit and lies in 20th position in the drivers standing out of 41 competitors.
Hamad and his management team thanked Oil and Gas Minister Dr Abdulhussain Mirza and Bapco, in particular Bapco chief executive Abdulkarim Al Sayed, for their support. Al Sayed said: "Each year, Bapco looks to support talented young Bahrainis in various fields and Hamad is one of those young stars that we chose to continue our sponsorship with this year, despite the difficult economic climate."
