Calendar trouble, India may miss F1 in 2014 The fate of the 2014 Formula One Indian Grand Prix, previous editions of which were held at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, hangs in the balance. A cluster of Asian races in the space of five months is the primary reason for India GP getting the axe in 2014. On the sidelines of the Hungarian race, F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said on Monday: “Is India going to happen next year? Probably not.” Asked to elaborate, he added a cryptic: “Very political.” Vicky Chandhok, president of the Indian motorsports federation and Ecclestone’s close acquaintance, said: “In 2015, F1 is looking to start earlier than the usual March. This means that the 2014 calendar will have to be wrapped up earlier than November. As such, some races like India (held towards October-end) may be dropped.” But that does not mean an end to the Indian GP. The Jaypee Group is reportedly paying to the tune of $45 million as rights fee for each race. Its contract with the F1 management calls for five races, with the first held in 2011. “If the 2014 race is dropped, the Indian GP will be held in 2015 and 2016,” Chandhok said. As for the ‘political’ aspect, he added: “Bernie told me he was alluding to the pressures arising out of expanding the calendar. He was not talking about politics in India.” NEW DELHI: Russia and Austria are slated to have an F1 race next year as is New Jersey in the US. Thailand has also been hailed as a future venue by the sport’s CEO Bernie Ecclestone. The calendar already stretches to 19 races and is set to burgeon to 22 unless some of the existing fixtures are cancelled. As such, some tweaking is surely in the offing. As of now the Concorde Agreement restricts total races in a year to 20 as more races mean heightened expenditure for the 11 teams. As to whether India will have a race in 2014 or not will only be finalised when the FIA calendar committee meets mid-August.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 06:24:14 +0000