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Buddh International circuit, NOIDA
Customs
This is the only, yes only, race where the teams have to pay customs duty for bringing the cars to the country. Surprised? Don’t be. India’s government considers the sport as “entertainment” and levies entertainment tax on it.
Sometimes it compels one to feel that F1 should go back completely to its motherland just to save the integrity of the sport and not make a mockery of itself.
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Visa Issues
After a point, anger and disappointment give way to absolute hilariousness, and the same is the case here. Before the first edition of the race in 2011, drivers, team members and journalists found it extremely difficult to procure a visa.
The funniest case was when Mercedes‘s Nico Rosberg was denied one. The FIA media delegate summed up the situation aptly: “If the government takes three weeks to process a visa application, almost 90% of F1 people, me included, won’t attend the race.”
It is difficult to understand why the government is showing such an indifferent, maybe even negligent, attitude towards Formula 1. The race is bringing huge revenues to the country both through tourism and sponsorship. The capacity at the Buddh International Circuit is 100,000, so we can assume at least 20,000 foreigners, including journalists, are visiting the country as tourists and along with the race venue, the government is earning revenue through the heritage sites nearby.
Major organizations like Telmex, PDVSA, Santander, etc. are coming to India via sponsors’ logos on the cars and they have the chance to exploit a virgin market, which is excellent news for the government.
Other countries’ leaders have understood the benefits of hosting a Formula 1 race and it’s high time that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his cabinet do the same. If they don’t, then no one can blame Bernie.
As F1 fans, we would definitely want the race to stay but if scrapping the Indian GP plays a part in reverting the sport back to its traditional home, we shouldn’t be too disappointed.
Which one would you choose? Ayrton Senna at Donington Park or Sebastian Vettel at Buddh International Circuit? We all know the answer.
