Singapore, Oct 13 With momentum building up gradually for India’s potential return to the Formula 1 calendar, Pranav Adani’s personal visit to the Singapore Grand Prix has attracted plenty of attention.
PTI has learned that Pranav was in the Singapore GP paddock in a personal capacity and was a guest of the FIA, the world governing body for four wheel racing.
The Adani Group has acquired the debt-ridden Jaypee Group and the deal also includes the Buddh International Circuit where Formula 1 race was held between 2011 and 2013, before hitting the taxation and financial hurdles.
Karan Adani has publicly expressed the desire to bring Formula 1 to India and the Indian government too is keen to host the marquee event, recently forming a task force for its revival.
There is no definite timeline set for the race’s comeback but Adani Group and Formula One Management have had exploratory discussions on the subject.
In fact Formula 1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, on multiple occasions, has conveyed the desire to have a race in a country of 1.5 billion people at the “right” time when enough awareness is created around the sport.
With all that for background, Pranav meeting the FIA officials albeit in a personal capacity does pique interest. Even the other stakeholders in the paddock, the drivers, led by Lando Norris, and team bosses, are keen to race in India again
“I know I have a lot of fans from India, and I remember having Jehan (Daruvala) as my teammate, an Indian driver, for many, many years and one of my best friends.
“And I’ve still never been to India, so I would love to go to experience it, first of all, but also to go and race there because I’m sure, and I know, that the fans out there love the sport,” reigning world champion Norris said ahead of the Singapore GP.
Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad, who has Indian roots, and Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen too are excited about the potential return of India on the calendar.
Adani Group and Indian sports ministry have shown a clear mindset to host the mega event but massive challenges need to be dealt with for the project to come to fruition.
Formula 1 will need absolute clarity on tax rebates before advancing the discussions while the local promoters, Adani in this case, will need to shell anything between Rs 300-500 crore annually as hosting fees.
Additionally, the circuit needs a major upgrade which is likely to cost between Rs 150 crore to Rs 200 crore. Then there are substantial logistics and safety costs involved.
Asia is important to Formula 1’s growth plans but more and more countries are wanting to host the race, increasing competition for India.
“If there’s a passion for motorsport in India, then it makes sense. Formula 1 is very competitive now. 20 years ago, it was difficult to find regions or cities that wanted races, and now it’s the opposite. So India would have to compete with other places,” said Alpine MD Nielsen in the Singapore paddock.
(PTI News)
