F1 still struggling to gain a foothold in India

From the stands

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F1 Fanatic reader @AbhishekRoy observes how far away F1 remains from establishing itself in India after visiting this year’s grand prix.

I began watching Formula One ten years ago, and in 2011 it came to my country for the first time. But with no race in India on next year’s calendar I knew I had to take my chance to be in the grandstand for what could be its final race.

It’s difficult to believe this is the same sport which was greeted by extraordinary fanfare when it first arrived in India just two years ago. Top Bollywood stars and politicians queued up to attend but the development of the race since then has to be viewed as a disappointment.

When I had arrived at the circuit this year it wasn’t difficult to find evidence of the lengths F1 still needs to go to take root in Indian sporting culture. The level of basic motor sport knowledge among racegoers was surprisingly low.

The majority of grandstand seats appeared to be occupied by people with little knowledge of motor racing who had obtained free tickets as corporate or political gifts. Talking to those around me I quickly discovered many had never watched any form of motor sport, even on television.

One group was being educated in the mysteries of why some drivers get to start closer to the front of the grid than others. The occasional appearance of a car in the pits was greeted with curiosity if little understanding what purpose these periodic pit visits served.

This experience rammed home the point that the fan base for motor sports in India is very limited. Although it has grown in recent years, it remains very small compared to what you would find in western countries.

The gradual decline in Indian involvement in the race hasn’t helped matters. In 2011 we had Narain Karthikeyan racing and Karun Chandhok driving in practice. The following year only Karthikeyan was present, and this year he was gone too.

Karthikeyan and Chandhok were major factors in attracting fans from Southern India – in 2013, an overwhelming number of tickets were sold to people living in Delhi or near Capital Region. Their absence from the Formula One scene only made things worse for the event.

Force India has conducted several competitions and promotional events to gather crowds in the stands, but the involvement of a British-based, Indian-owned team does not seem to have the same resonance with the fans as having an Indian driver does. Those near me in the stands who had heard of Vijay Mallya wondered why he would run an F1 team which is still looking for its first win in its sixth year of competition.

The tax issues which have dogged the event were thrust into the spotlight ahead of the race when a petition was brought against it in court which, fortunately, amounted to nothing.

But perhaps more attention should be paid to the onerous costs faced by Indian fans rather than the visiting teams. The high cost of tickets is clearly a disincentive for potential spectators.

Ticket prices compare favourably with European races: entry to the main grandstand at Buddh International Circuit costs about as much as a general admission attendance at Spa-Francorchamps. But this is very steep for an average middle class Indian family.

The cheapest ticket of 2,000 Rupees (just under £20) for the picnic area is is around four times the price of a cricket match ticket. The high cost of attendance and limit fan base inevitably makes for small crowds with many tickets being given away as freebies to boost attendance.

Those who do make it to the track are in for a treat. From my view in the centre of the main grandstand I had an excellent view of the entire starting grid, the pit stops of each and every team, and the post-race podium celebrations. These included, of course, the newly crowned world champion performing doughnuts on the pit straight!

In a further indication of the difficulty the sport has had taking root in India, the only event on the support bill was the MRF series, leaving a lot of dead track time.

The atmosphere was very energetic as most of those present at the circuit were first-timers who had never witnessed a race at a circuit. It was good to see quite a few foreigners present at the grandstand, mostly supporting drivers from their respective countries (with plenty of support for Vettel in particular).

But although the race saw the crowing of 2013 drivers’ and constructors’ champions, and the track being received positively by the F1 fraternity, it’s the fans who make a sporting event successful. The 2013 Indian Grand Prix had everything but this, and this may ultimately result in this year’s race being the final time the country heard the roar of the Formula One engines.

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Images © Force India, Red Bull

61 comments on “F1 still struggling to gain a foothold in India”

  1. An event like this needs to be given 10 years to see how it will develop, China now pulls in a 100,000 at its gp which is comparable with Britain. It just looks lost in such a big arena.

    1. The Chinese government can afford to run F1 at a loss but private promoters can not.
      The price promoters have to pay to stage a GP (+ – $50million) is the biggest hurdle to establishing F1 in a country, particularly in a poor country, yet at most it provides $400m. per year to FOM out of a total income of $1.5 billion, clearly this is a case of short term profit over long term growth.

  2. india needs time to accept and embrace F1..Still 5-6 years should be given …

    1. Bernie looked okay with it, but the Indian parliament wanted more money from ‘entertainment tax’ as it was not considered as sports. hence this happen.

  3. I winced with embarrassment when I watched the Grand Prix on tv recently at just how many completely empty grandstands there were. Doesn’t this prove that there is no real fan base in India and with no race next year I would think the return in 2015 will happen but again to very empty grandstands.

    It does seem strange to me that Motorsport rich countries like France have no GP but apathetic India does ?

    1. Exactly, I’m sad for India but as a Frenchman – with 4 drivers and a world champion engine on the grid, I’m even more saddened not to have a GP. I went to Spa and Catalunya, but never to Magny-Cours as it is misexposed to go to.
      All those circuit graveyards make me wander why we keep building new ones around the planet.
      F1 has to start its ecologic view on circuit before engines.

      1. Steph (@stephanief1990)
        7th November 2013, 14:41

        If F1 doesn’t go to new places then it’ll stay Eurocentric and therefore it would be a joke to call it a “world championship”. It also wouln’t help the cause of Indian drivers one bit. F1 needs to go to as many different countries as it can but it needs to be made accessible to the population.

        1. @stephanief1990 Yeah Steph, let’s waste money all over the world to build new facilities that becomes obsolete after just 3 years, that is a clever way to spend the money of the taxpayers.
          India does not need F1. Kids are starving mate.

          1. Steph (@stephanief1990)
            7th November 2013, 15:33

            @jeff1s that is not the only option available- if you think so then you lack creativity. Build the facility, invest in F1 in the area, invest in motor sport in the area, make prices affordable, put the track in an accessible location (unlike Turkey for instance) and have grandstands close to the track (unlike China for instance). It’s not your money either – I don’t support investment from governments because they should spend money on social programmes but F1 is largely a private enterprise.

            Given that I volunteer every week for a homeless charity I’m well aware that people are starving, but thanks for that worldly update.

          2. Kids are starving mate

            Must be the reason why the french are running after gypsies

          3. maarten.f1 (@)
            7th November 2013, 21:03

            @stephanief1990 I’m so with you that governments shouldn’t be funding a Grand Prix. Unfortunately, it’s so expensive to host a Grand Prix that it’s almost impossible to do without government funding. And the reasoning of many within Formula 1 (not just Bernie) is that governments should chip in because they also reap the benefits. To me Formula 1 has increasingly become a bubble that will, at some point, burst. Many great circuits have been taken off the calendar because they cannot get the funds together to host an F1 race, and many others are struggling to do so.

        2. @stephanief1990

          It’s never been a very global sport anyway. They just call it that as an after the fact statment. It’s primarily a British sport that tours the world in my opinion. The majority of those involved in the sport are British for one, all the factories are where many of the cars are built as well. Until we see multiple fully foreign teams like Japanese, Chinese, American, Australian (or any other country really) teams, the sport can’t justifiably be called “global”.

          I very much want it to be a fully global sport, but it is not.

          1. Steph (@stephanief1990)
            9th November 2013, 10:52

            It’s never going to be a global sport so long as it’s over priced, exclusive and Europe/Western centric @nick-uk

  4. The price is what puts people down. I read that it costs 4 times more than a cricket match ticket. And you go: “they spent 500 million on this track for F1 to come, and I still have to pay a ridiculous amount of money?”

    That kicks in people, specially if they have to be seduced towards going to the GP. If the ticket was cheap the first year, people would go, love it or hate it, and come back if they want to. And those who loved it, would tell their relatives and they’d all go. And that’s where the falling snowball starts to gte bigger.

    But the tickets were high the first time out, the spectacle was mediocre at best, the “this is a rip off” thing comes to your mind, and the public forgets about it…

    1. Steph (@stephanief1990)
      7th November 2013, 14:41

      Couldn’t agree more @fer-no65

    2. I find 4 times the price of a cricket match very normal.
      I think in Europe it’s about 4 times the price of a football match.

      However, if you consider the excitement provided at India it’s a rip off. But so is Abu Dahbi, unless you like ledflooded architecture.

      1. @verstappen depends where you put it. 4 times more than the most popular sport in the country for a ticket in a very unknown event? it’s too much. 4 times more for something that’s been part of the history of a country (Germany, UK, Spain…), well, it’s a fair price for something that only happens once a year.

        1. Also the European rounds are the most prestigious of a very diverse domestic motorsport scene (Monaco excepted of course), with prices as low as ~£10 for the grass-roots level.

        2. @fer-no65 Exactly mate . If they reduce the prices for Grandstand tickets and popularize by providing good ads , then India is a huge market . The key is to make people excited , then you will be surprised with the numbers in our country .
          The next step would be an Indian driver , not an old Narain(Sorry there my fellow contemporary. I know you have won in every other category) but a young Hamilton type talent . I am sure there are lots out there , inaccessible .

        3. Well, I think – and have experienced this as an entrepeneur – if you’ll lower the price, at the end you’ll inflate your product. We’re talking about what? Promilles of the people.
          Mercedes doesn’t lower their prizes, they’re Mercedes!
          F1 is F1 and in a country which is developing like crazy, there must be money.
          Marketing failure – but not with the pricing. @fer-no65 and the others.

          1. @verstappen maybe. It’s still the same issue, but the other way round. You say that instead of making it affordable, we should capture those that can pay with better marketing.

            Well, that could work. But I don’t think capturing the payers that have no interest, instead of allowing the ones that are interested, works better.

            Either way, it’s a complicated matter.

      2. i am sorry but the ticket prices for cricket matches is higher than the formula one event….the lowest prices for cricket matches is Rs1000 and can go up to Rs 20000 as well……

  5. Well apart from the fact that there is almost no existing motorsport culture in India,
    also the support programme is very, very important in a GP weekend.
    I have been to the German gp this year and the whole programme was just fantastic.
    I have seen every session of every racing class. If you go a weekend to a Grand Prix, then you go for
    the whole experience, not just for only the F1 race.

    On thursday I have done the pit walk and there was a bus tour on the racing track.
    And on the weekend there are practice and qualifying sessions and races from F1, Gp2, Gp3 and the Porsche Supercup. That whole build up to the highlight of the weekend, the F1 race, made the experience just fantastic.
    That is also what India is missing.

  6. From my experience it’s the ticket prices that puts off people from attending the Indian GP.. There is quite a lot of F1 fans in India but sadly many of them can not afford the expenses to watch the Indian GP… On top of that it’s a vast country so travel itself is tiring if you are not from near new Delhi( from where I live the venue is more than 2000 LMs away)… It’s true that F1 has quite a long way to go before reaching somewhat similar levels of following like Cricket(the most popilar sport in India)… But Given time and reduced ticket fares, Am sure F1 can and will be very popular in India… 10 years back nobody used to follow the Premier league in India but trust me it’s very popular these days.. I hope Indian GP will be back in 2015 and F1 will become more popular..

  7. As an Indian fan I am indeed sad . Despite all other things , I managed to attend this year and it was just spectacular. Music to my ears .The sound of the first ever F1 car I watched live (Perez’s Mclaren) will be permanently stamped in my memory .There are organizing hassles also and as someone above has said , There is no “atmosphere” . I was even denied entry into the merchandise stalls because I had a ticket for another stand . When asked about this to the organizers they said , well you can buy them in malls can’t you ? after which I stood there laughing at that guy for about 2 minutes .
    But , I am ever-grateful to this grand prix to have even materialized and for the people who helped bring this to India as it has given me the experience unlike another which I doubt I am likely to have by travelling elsewhere at least not for another 5 years.

  8. Too bad. The track layout is good, wich is quite rare on new circuits. I hope all of this won’t be lost.

  9. I think that the circuit location was wrong. Motorsports is popular in South India esp Tamil nadu,where India’s only 2 circuits existed before Buddh. Motorsports was as and is popular down South. If MMST in Chennai or Kari Speedway was upgraded,then audience would have come.

  10. Great article. I would like to add two more things.
    In India, you gotta have local talent in fray. In the CW Games only those sports with Indians in attendance manager to pull the crowd. Events like Rugby7 final was held in empty arenas!

    Then its the issue of track location. Most F1 fans are in South India and the track is in North India. South Indians face problems with language(most Southerners dont speak Hindi) while visiting North. And also I have heard that going to Malaysian and Singapore GPs is cheaper for us in the South!

    1. @malleshmagdum +1. India lacks a sponsored hotshot talent .

      1. Thats because your nation hasn’t mastered the art of driving.

        Your problem, not ours.

        1. That’s just racist, no matter how you read it.

        2. @Hamish Surely you mean “driviing an f1 car”.There is talent . There is an absolute lack of sponsorship and development upto now . Things will improve slowly.About mastering the art of driving , try driving in our congested roads .You will get a new perspective to driving mate ,if you are good .Otherwise ,more likely that you will go mad from the stress.

  11. I’m sorry for them, but this looks like a flop. I’m pretty sure the reason behind going to India and China etc has more to do with the money (profits) than anything else. I think they thought the grandstands will be full because these 2 countries have a huge population. Yeah, I find it hard to believe myself that from a population of +1billion it’s impossible to fill 100-150,000 seats… but it just happened ! As someone said above, how come there’s no GP in France ??

  12. I wonder what the biggest F1 circuit attendance flop of all time was?

    I remember a fact that there was an animal show or something in the same town in the US at the same time as the F1 race there and more people went to the animal thingy!

    1. Wasn’t it an ostrich race that got more attendance than the Phoenix Grand Prix one year ?

      1. I believe ur right

  13. If I’m honest, I don’t think F1 will ever reach the popularity in India that cricket has. The only way it’ll surge up is if an India driver is on the grid, and not only that – but being competitive and even winning. As far as I know, the only hope of that is Jehan Deruvala (in the Force India young driver program) but that is still a long way away.
    Karun and Narain would have helped the popularity of F1 in India, but as the article said, the majority of spectators were from Southern India (where they’re from) when they were on the grid. Had they been in the top ten or even fighting for the wins, there would have been much more interest in the Indian GP and even more widespread around the country.

  14. I think, Indian gp may be succeed if it was organized in south India (Bangalore or Chennai).

  15. Basically it’s too late, next year it will be off the calendar and that fact is enough evidence for me it hasn’t filled Bernies pockets enough for him to give it another go in 2015. It’s weird you know because even though there is still a lot of poverty in India it remains an economical boomer with an rapid increasing middle class and more rich folks as well. A perfect Market for Mercedes and Renault but for some reason it doesn’t catch on. I have no idea how well known Cricket is around the world (hey I’m Belgian, we care about soccer and… Voleyball) but even I can see from a distance you can’t beat that in India and I guess that is what kills it completly off.

    The racetrack itself is fine but again it seems to lose itself in a massive concrete jungle, you need to bring F1 closer to the fans, in a safe way off course. Watch the race and the cameras are so far away when fully zoomed the cars still seems kinda small.

    F1 in India, it’s over, NEXT!

  16. Thanks for this article about the Indian GP and why it seems to have failed. As mentioned in a comment above, it took china some 10 years to get crowds coming in. We can just hope that in the couple of years that F1 has been in India the seeds for a growing crowd were planted in people and in time we see F1 there again.

  17. I hope BIC will not remain empty.
    May be a moto GP :)

  18. Thank you for a really good article…

    Building a motorsports culture from the top down is perhaps backwards.

    Given all the compliments for the local driver’s skills in navigating the local roadways that pop up on twitter when the F1 community visits India, it would be opportune for rental karting tracks to open up around the country. Rental kart racing is an excellent taste of motorsports for youth and the middle class around the world, as well as an excellent entry level for drivers.

  19. Reading some of your comments, as an Indian F1 fan, I’m inclined to correct you.
    It isn’t about an indian presence on the grid being needed, we have a team, we had a driver er…Karthikeyan, yet all people were saying in India was Vettel, and they have been doing so since the year F1 came here.
    They don’t get why Force India doesn’t win races, tthey dont have a clue who Alonso Raikkonen or Button are. Worse, at this years race someone behind me asked me why RB is running 4 cars (toro rossos have logo’s of RB.)
    When Vettel won the title and was on his victory lap (I was seated at turn 11) Daniel Ricciardo went past us in his STR on th’e cool down lap (Vettel was somewhere behind ceebrating with his finger) People in the stands erupted screaming Vettel!”. When vettel came a few moments later, he was pretty much ignored.
    During the podium ceremony, i heard people asking each other who is ‘Gross-Jean’.
    Why? Because half the people who came at the race didnt follow F1 nor had they bought tickets, they were gifted. People employed by the organisers got around 10 tickets each which made the turnout more impressive.

    And it isn’t because of lack of interest, F1 is difficult to understand. It’s difficult to explain to people why Alonso had to pit, why Nico Hulkenberg is a good driver…
    The organisers have done a brlliant job of it, but instead of people starting to follow f1 and hopefully, for mallya, form a base for SFI, all that has happened is some people started getting interested, while the masses supported Vettel and went home thinking of F1 as something like a circus.

    1. @udm7 I LOLed at your post, especially the gross mispronunciation ( forgive the pun ). Harsh facts though true.

      nor had they bought tickets, they were gifted.

      Aha , that is another problem altogether which also explains the marshals’ proclivity for making the media claustrophobic (they were also recommended by some bigwig instead of having genuine interest).
      Bernie needs to understand Indian market to succeed in it if he wants to . People have to create interest in junior levels .
      Does India need F1? From a fan’s perspective , it needs f1 but not this circus that happens in Noida.I dream of an India with a permanent huge motor sport following,Something like suzuka . Maybe in my lifetime someday…Even though it’s an uphill task , It’s possible.And please guys , don’t talk about poverty .Politicians gobble money up for food anyhow .It’s like the villain in the movie who shoots regardless of what you do .So I appreciate it when somebody brings f1 (such a huge sport ) to India with so much commitment and investment.

      1. They need to bring Sky F1, not star cricket. And a proper amount of media attention given to F1, even in the papers only FIA’s interview with Renault powered drivers are given with a renault advert next to it.
        Oh yeah, and some help from the generous government.

  20. Good article, Abhishek. I was at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix in 2011, and I must say I was quite impressed with the track and the facilities (though it still needs some improvement). There are several problems contributing to the lack of attendance to the race, but I feel all of these will help:
    1. CVC must reduce the hosting fees charged. Since ticket sales are pretty much the only way for tracks to recover the costs, it means that for an event to break even after paying the 30M euro fee, they need to charge about 300 euros for each of the 100,000 spectators. The monthly income for a recent university graduate in India is about 300 euros, so there is no way the race can be run profitably even with 100,000 people in attendance.
    2. Race organisers can make a more rounded event of the race and have concerts, parties and other activities so that fans who fly to these races won’t feel that they have paid all their money just for Formula One.
    3. To win over the F1 teams, the Indian government must not tax them. If it is serious about raising revenues from motorsport, it can encourage the activities I’ve highlighted in point #2, and tax those as entertainment instead.

    In India, there has to be an investment in motorsport and any party expecting quick returns in terms of money or spectator turnout will be disappointed. However, I don’t see CVC or the Indian government playing the long-term game, so #2 is the only option which may work out though it may be too late for that now.

    1. But your requests are the same as every other grand prix. Why should India get some sort of special treatment when if anything its their overall state of the country that is the main reason why teams would prefer not to have an Indian GP.

      Not being rude guys – but its still a 3rd world country. I’ve driven to the circuit on the highway, I’ve stayed at the Hilton Hotel the McLaren team made mention of being substandard – the whole experience is disgraceful.

      Some may say that its about accepting other cultures, but poverty, your horrible motorways and people deficating on the streets only for them to go and swim and drink from the same area is not culture – it is simply an underdeveloped nation.

      And thats the point, India simply has more important issues to worry about.

      1. but its still a 3rd world country. I’ve driven to the circuit on the highway, I’ve stayed at the Hilton Hotel the McLaren team made mention of being substandard – the whole experience is disgraceful.

        A lot of other countries like Brazil have poverty too . I think the pivotal point here is Interest in F1 . If people get interested in f1,things will change.

        the whole experience is disgraceful.

        I don’t know about Mclaren but I didn’t see too many teams complaining about the facilities . As it is , the f1 fraternity is pretty much comfortable . It’s only the taxes they are bothered about. Yes , it’s not Monaco but I think private parties have contributed their very best for this event in terms of money.

        And thats the point, India simply has more important issues to worry about.

        This is an excuse if not any. People loot money and there is poverty irrespective of f1 . It has not got government funding at all . Why don’t you turn your heads towards other things that the government spends lavishly which are useless.

        1. Focus on the question mate.

          You’re competing with Bahrain for the race that the F1 circus least likes going to.

          You’re in a batlle for last place with a nation with civil unrest and its own government shooting and killing protesters.

          Does it put into context as to how much of an issue you guys are dealing with here if your minor issues are comparable to a that of a nation that murders its own people?

          No one likes going to India for the F1. It may sound a bit harsh, but sadly that’s a reality of the situation. This is speaking from some who attended the inaugural event.

          The best way to learn from your mistakes is to not make them twice – one Indian Grand Prix is enough for me.

          1. @ above . I am not saying that India is currently good at hosting a grand prix . And no matter how much you try to bring Bahrain into it , I am not going to compare it . I just took up the example of Brazil to show you what interest , support and a great driver can do to make a nation which has poverty into an f1 country . I brought up this point to stop you from making the third world country crap excuses and to see if progress can be made .Obviously , you have completely missed the point of this discussion and are the first jump and point fingers racially .

            one Indian Grand Prix is enough for me.

            There is the problem .
            It is pointless to discuss something with you who have no inclination towards hoping for a better situation because you are not even interested for it to happen again.Go and watch it monaco with a bunch of bigwigs and leave me alone.

  21. Not only the fans, the Indian media had little knowledge about F1.

    I attended the Indian Grand Prix as an accredited journalist and was accompanied by a lot of Indian journalists from newspapers and magazines. Majority of them were general sports journalist who had little knowledge about F1. They asked some of the silliest questions from drivers. One asked Jenson Button whether McLaren had started development on their 2014 car. When Jenson Button replied with a smile, ”we have started development on the 2018 car as well”, the journalist further asked ”do you think that’s the reason(starting development of next year’s car early) you are having a troubled 2013 season?”

    However, at the same time, some Indians, particularly in the official press conferences, asked really sophisticated questions from drivers and the team principals.

    As an Indian, I really want the Grand Prix to return on the calendar in 2015, but it will take time to make a mark in a country dominated by cricket. Lets see. I have my fingers crossed.

  22. Ten years ago when Schumi dominated everything the grandstands were still full At the Nurburgring, German flags waving everywhere, smoke grenades going off and there seemed to be a real passion for the sport. I know it’s a World Championship but really, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi ?

    1. @dave

      Ten years ago when Schumi dominated everything the grandstands were still full At the Nurburgring, German flags waving everywhere

      I agree with the point you are making across , but hey
      MSC=German . So why should we be surprised. Wouldn’t you support your countryman who wins everything in a rocketship in the pinnacle of racing if you had the chance ?

  23. there are many reasons for this but main 2reasons are
    1.ticket prices are very high, let me tell u that lowest ticket price which is rs 2000 itself is pretty costly for an Indian middle class family, we can only dream about grand stand tickets
    2.It is stupidly placed in north India, South India would have been a far better location, even Mumbai would have been better location cos its at about equal distance from south and north Indian cities. Even if I somehow arrange for ticket money,it is 30 hours one way journey from my city(via train) and I don’t even live in South India. It’s too much travelling.

  24. It’s very simple why the race hasn’t succeeded in India, there’s no Indian driver!
    In mature markets outside Europe (Canada, Australia, Japan, Brasil, Mexico) there doesn’t need to be an F1 driver to have a full house, but in India and in other Asian countries they tried to grow interest by having a race first, which only happens once a year, while a driver will make people follow all 20 races of the season.

  25. The problems with the poor attendance at the Indian Grand Prix are manifold and not just one. First of all, it is not that India is alien to motorsports; it is that South India was & is the hub of motorsports in India. Racing and motorsports in India date back to 1960’s when there used to be races conducted on an erstwhile WW-II air strip at Sholavaram near Chennai (earlier known as Madras) until the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) purpose built a race track at Irungattukottai again near Chennai. And there is another permanent race track in Coimbatore by name Kari Motor Speedway. It’s a shame that these circuits could not be upgraded to Formula 1 level or a new F1 level track built somewhere near these locations including Bangalore which is not far from either of the locations.

    Formula One or for that matter any motorsports does not command a huge amount of audience in this cricket crazy nation which does not pay adequate attention to its national game viz. Hockey. But, India is not a cricket fortress as such to be not able to be penetrated by any other sport. The problem is with the awareness and marketing. Bernie, FOM and the event organizers as well as the 20th Century Fox owned Star Sports group should have ensured decent effort to capture the attention and viewership of the Indian public not just for the Indian GP but for the Formula One itself. Creating a large audience base is the key to establishing F1 in India. It wouldn’t have hurt to find much advertisement for F1 on the official broadcaster’s channels (20th Century Fox owned STAR group) in India.

    The price for the F1 tickets may be quite high compared to that of Cricket matches; but that is not the sole reason for mediocre response from the public. There are millions of people in India who could & would spend that much money on a single weekend. But, their attention has not been properly captured towards motorsports and F1. This is a collective failure of the motorsports associations, the Buddh International Circuit and Telecasting rights holder STAR group.

    And then there is the lack of support races for the F1 weekend in India. Even currently most of the motorsports events in India happen either at Irungattukottai Race Track or at Kari Motor Speedway only. F1 could fare much better with an Asian version of GP2, GP3 etc. as support races.

    But, overall though the Indian audience are crazy audience(you could understand what I mean if you have watched a cricket match played in India featuring India and a team like Australia, England, Pakistan or New Zealand), you must credit them for being sensible than most of the much hyped European audience. I mean did you hear a ‘boo’ for any driver at the Indian GP let alone Vettel? Proper advertising and campaigning could do a lot wonders to capture the crazy Indian audience towards F1; but are the stakeholders (including Bernie, FOM, FIA, BIC etc.) willing to do that?

    1. Precisely. imagine a street circuit in Chennai. along the Marina Beach. it wold have been spectacular.

    2. @seahorse +1 .Great points and comments . Covered everything there comprehensively.
      Even as Ted Kravitz dished out a veiled compliment in sky saying India is a country of colours and passion and does not fit into the precision world of f1 , I was seething with rage . It is not that Indians don’t understand f1 , It’s that Indian’s are not familiar enough with f1 and don’t have people to cheer for.

  26. Once again, a race is thrown into jeopardy by mismanagement by the organisers. Governments support races for the prestige associated with them, but that’s as far as the support goes. Promoters, however, don’t seem to be able to grasp the idea that they need to educate and inform people about Formula 1. They seem to have taken the old adage of “if you build it, they will come” a little too literally.

  27. the very basic thing is that INDIANS get behind the sport or an individual if they are winning on a consistent basis…..cricket is so rich and popular because we win consistently and are currently no. 1 in the rankings.

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