Dicastal to become F1 supplier next year

As of 2018, aluminium wheel manufacturer CITIC Dicastal will begin supplying rims to the Williams Martini Racing F1 team, making it the first Chinese manufacturer to produce any component for a Formula 1 racing car. Wang Jiong, vice-president of the Citic Group, told Xinhua News Agency that this cooperation not only means a huge step for Dicastal, but is also of great significance for China’s manufacturing sector.

Wang shared that while Chinese manufacturers were often regarded internationally as resource or labour intensive operations, they were considered unable to compete when it came to manufacturing high-tech products. He added that, as a state-owned enterprise, Citic “felt obliged to change the stereotype” and compete against foreign firms in high tech areas.

“In terms of (the) automobile industry, there is no doubt that F1 is the top of the industry pyramid. Only the very top manufacturers in the world can become the suppliers of the F1 racing events,” commented Wang. He told Xinhua that the company set itself a goal of working with F1 racing teams back in 2010. Dicastal entered into a technical partnership with Williams last year; Dicastal’s underwent R&D evaluation with Williams Martini Racing before on track product testing began this year.            _sg