The Government of India has shown initial interest in revival of F1 Indian GP as Ministry of Youth & Sports Affairs pay a visit to Buddh International Circuit.
Ever since its departure from the F1 calendar post the 2013 event, little efforts were made to get it back – at least in serious terms. The then promoters Jaypee Group faced heat due to its financial discrepancies, while FOM had to go through Indian bureaucracy to get tax relief.
The main crux then was the idea of F1 being dubbed as ‘entertainment’ in the country, as opposed to ‘sport’. This resulted in heavy taxes, some of which was borne by Jaypee, which further put them in jeopardy on the financial end. There were court cases as well, which went on for years.
The initial deal of five years was never fulfilled, with only three done. Post the Liberty Media takeover of F1 – despite interest – there was never serious discussions held. In the meantime, Buddh circuit hosted the MotoGP event in 2023, when Government of Uttar Pradesh took interest in hosting the event.
While there was less troubles on tax end, but hosting issues along with timeline of the event, eventually forced the event to be dropped despite assurances of revival in 2024, 2025 and even 2026. India also hosted Formula E race in Hyderabad in 2023, but a Government change, saw the event being scrapped.
After all these years, the Government of India has taken note of reviving F1 in the country, as soon as possible. As per several reports in leading news websites of India, the Ministry of Youth & Sports Affairs held an informal briefing on Monday, where they notified about their intentions.
It wishes to ease the tax and bureaucratic hurdles which prevented the race from a smooth running back in the day. It is believed that Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has already visited the Buddh circuit to oversee the preparedness. There is a need of renovation work, not just on infrastructure, but also the track.
At this juncture, they are looking to clear the hurdles and are seemingly involved in initial discussions with the Formula One Management as well. F1 has a lot on their plate off-late, with several countries eying a spot on the ever-growing calendar, which currently features 24 races.
F1 has always been a popular sport in India, but has gained further popularity due to the growth of social media and shows like Netflix’s Drive to Survive. The recent movie on the sport has further increased demand and appetite, even though cricket remains the alpha among all the sports.
The recent push from the Government of India to look at F1 is likely due to its intentions to host the 2036 Olympic Games in the country. It is already due to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and with events like Formula 1, the Government seemingly wants to show its preparedness to host an international caliber event.
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