The significance of the Middle East in Formula 1's future has never been greater – that is the view of Prodrive chairman and former BAR-Honda and Benetton grand prix chief David Richards.

Bahrain became the first Middle Eastern country to host a grand prix in 2004, in the Sakhir desert region, with Abu Dhabi set to follow suit next year. There are further tracks in Dubai – which has received both GP2, F1's feeder series, and A1GP – and Qatar, whose Losail International Circuit has been the venue for MotoGP races since 2004, including the championship's first-ever night-time outing last month.

There are now plans to upgrade Losail to F1 standards, whilst the track in Abu Dhabi is accompanied by a Ferrari World amusement park. Bahrain is similarly planning a technology centre at Sakhir, and Dubai's Autodrome is part of the Emirates' MotorCity development.

“From next year, this region will have six world-class racing circuits,” international news agency Reuters quoted 55-year-old Richards as having told a business forum in Bahrain. “It shows that the Gulf has become a significant focal point for the motorsport industry.

“The business model of a stand-alone circuit is gone forever. This area of the world is looking at motorsport as a proper sustainable business plan and we should all pay attention.”

Richards fronted a group that purchased luxury carmaker Aston Martin from Ford last year, with Kuwait's Investment Dar taking a 50 per cent stake.

In further evidence of the Middle East region's growing influence inside the sport, Abu Dhabi's government-owned Mubadala Development Company holds a five per cent stake in Ferrari and also sponsors the Scuderia along with Etihad Airways, whilst rivals McLaren are 30 per cent owned by Bahrain's Mumtalakat Holding Company.