NOT everyone is glad that a Formula One race will be held in Singapore next year.

Because of the F1 hype, Singapore's A1 Grand Prix racing team are being squeezed out of the sponsorship race.

Unlike F1, where drivers represent their teams using customised cars, A1 competitors represent their nations with standardised vehicles.

With less than three months to go before the new A1 Grand Prix season flags off, Team Singapore have yet to secure a sponsor.

This means that their participation in the 2007/08 edition is looking increasingly unlikely.

A1 Holdings, the series organiser, has been paying the bills for Team Singapore after the debutants ran into financial problems last year.

It costs about US$7 million (S$10.7 million) a season to fund a team. The sum has allegedly discouraged many potential investors, especially with the Singapore GP just round the corner.

Anand Vathiyar, executive director of local public relations consultancy UP Media, revealed that a 'very nationalistic local company' had initially wanted to give Singapore's A1 outfit up to $200,000.

'However, as soon as news about F1 broke, they told us they would need to park that money for F1 hospitality, because it's a proven product,' he said.

UP Media was the media and marketing partner for A1 Team Singapore when it was launched with much fanfare last September.

However, the company parted ways with the team last week, saying that it wanted to concentrate on 'chasing the F1 dollar'.

Singapore Motor Sports Association president Tan Teng Lip said it was clear why investors have shunned Singapore's A1 team.

'Sponsors look for returns, and dollar-for-dollar, F1 is a lot better,' he said.

Also, Singapore does not host an A1 race, and Tan says this may have worked against the team.

'It's going to be very tough for them because Singapore does not have a permanent motor sports circuit to host an A1 race.

'F1 is already confirmed, so that's an advantage.'

Major local companies contacted by The Straits Times declined to confirm if they had snubbed the Republic's A1 team in favour of F1's Singapore GP.

But it is understood that at least two companies pulled out of sponsorship talks with Team Singapore when the F1 race here was confirmed in May.

Said Vathiyar: 'You can't blame the sponsors. It was a business decision.

'While F1 may be the best thing to happen to Singapore, it was the worst thing to happen to A1 Team Singapore.'

However, A1 GP's Asia-Pacific chief executive officer David Clare argued that F1 has actually raised the profile of motor sports in Singapore as a whole.

'There's a lot more motor sport interest in Singapore, and there's room in the country for more than just F1,' he insisted.

Australia, Britain and Malaysia are among the countries that host both F1 and A1 races, in addition to supporting a national A1 team.

Clare said that there are still 'one or two interested parties' who may yet step forward to bail out Team Singapore.

He said the final decision on Singapore's future as an A1 team will be made in the next few weeks.