For reasons I shall explain later, and in no way out of a lack of respect for the man, nor indeed a pathetic attempt to cut down on typing, I shall, for the remainder of this piece, refer to His Highness Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum simply as 'Mak'.

It's an exceedingly damp, miserable spring morning, and while FIA President Max Mosley is in Monaco thrashing out the future of Formula One with the assembled team bosses and technical directors, I'm in a Knightsbridge hotel learning about the new A1 Grand Prix series, of which 'Mak' is the founder and principal driving force.

Earlier this year pitpass reported that Max Mosley, at one of his pre-season get-togethers with the press, had spoken favourably of A1, welcoming it with open arms. When 'Mak' read the article he immediately contacted Max, which led to a meeting and dinner. Subsequently 'Mak' met up with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone who was equally enthusiastic about the new series, giving it his full support.

Before we go any further it might be wise to give you the basics with regards A1 Grand Prix: It is a race championship that will begin in September 2005 and will run over the winter months until April 2006. It is a one-make series that will see 30 drivers in 3.5 litre V8 powered Lolas, compete on circuits in Arabia, Asia, Australia, Africa and (hopefully) north and south America. In addition to an overall prize, the winner of each individual race will receive $1m. Where this series differs from the proliferation of other championships is that it's truly international, in the sense that each car will represent an individual country, furthermore it is not open to race teams as such, but to 'partners' who purchase a franchise.

The DVD of the launch, held in Dubai in March and attended by a number of F1 drivers, including Juan Pablo Montoya and Rubens Barrichello, features the commentary for a mock race. However, rather than relaying the names of the 'drivers', the commentator informs us that it's China ahead of Germany, while Norway is all over the back of France. In other words A1 is about nations rather than personalities, and this is what 'Mak' thinks will make the series unique.

One of the things about A1 that appeals to me, and something that pitpass has regularly alluded to, is that although Formula One claims to be a World Championship, it merely visits most continents, failing to truly reflect the various cultures. Furthermore, in terms of teams, drivers and sponsors, F1 is predominantly white European and South American.

"This isn't merely a problem affecting F1," says 'Mak', "it is a global problem. Look at the UN, it is not a united nations, it is basically G7 voting everyone else off. I wish I could do with the UN what I'm doing with A1, that is proper representation and equal rights.

"Look at MacDonalds," he continues, "they think globally but act locally. If you go to a branch in Japan they will have sushi burgers, in Malaysia, spice burgers and so on. That's what I'm doing with A1."

When the interview was first arranged I enquired as to whether there was a certain way in which I should address 'Mak', if there was a particular protocol involved. "No," I was told, "he's a regular down-to-earth guy, you'll like him."

Before we even got on to the subject of A1, we discussed a wide range of subjects, including, inevitably, politics. 'Mak' is a twenty-seven-year-old Arab, and is fully aware of the prejudice that exists with regard to his nationality, his age and the general assumption that he's just another middle-eastern 'rich kid'. He has no time for such prejudice. Although he doesn't deny that he comes from a privileged background, he fiercely denies that he's 'had it easy'