Will Formula One come back to India in 2015? Most people in the know of things would reply in the negative, but Indian Grand Prix organisers Jaypee Sports are still hopeful.
While sources within the group conceded that no new development had taken place after F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone’s comments that the Indian GP would not happen in 2015, a meeting has been scheduled between Ecclestone and the Jaypee Sports CEO Sameer Gaur. “We have not received any official communiqué from Formula One Management regarding any possible move to shunt the Indian GP out of the 2015 calendar. As for Bernie Ecclestone’s comments, Sameer Gaur will soon meet him and hopefully sort out issues,” a spokesman for the group told TNIE.
Another party holding on to hope is the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI). Ecclestone’s announcement has been the biggest challenge that the new FMSCI regime has faced during its short tenure so far. FMSCI president A Prithviraj told TNIE that not only was the body’s representative at the FIA, Vijay Mallya, speaking to F1 officials, but help had also been sought from the central government. “Vijay Mallya is our representative at the FIA and he is speaking to F1 officials including Bernie Ecclestone. We will seek to clear any misunderstanding between F1 Management and the organisers of the Indian Grand Prix. The central government has also responded to our plea to secure the future of the Indian GP and we expect a positive stance from them as well,” Prithviraj said.
Even as the firefight to save the Indian Grand Prix’s future continues, the Buddh International Circuit is preparing for life without Formula One. The circuit, built at a cost of more than Rs 2000 crore, eats up several crores a month in maintenance charges.
Jaypee officials though maintain that missing out on F1 for a couple of seasons will have no impact on long-term plans of the circuit. “The Indian Grand Prix was never going to be a profitable short-term venture and it was always going to lose money for the first few seasons. To offset the losses caused by the GP, we had formulated a number of alternative revenue-generating plans for the circuit including renting it to private parties at the cost of a few lakhs a day. These plans are going well. A number of automobile majors are using the BIC for testing and for advertising their cars to potential buyers, while concerts and conferences continue to net in a lot of income,” said sources close to the group.
Discussions were also on to bring other racing series to India in the 2015 season. “We have had a lot of talks with the World Superbike Championship and we are hopeful that something will work out for the next season. We are also looking at the newly-launched Formula E championships, although no discussions have been held with the promoters so far,” they added.