[srishiva]

If you look at the first post, there are multiple quotes. He is questioning the necessity of conducting races in new countries. Then he says races should be held only in some countries where there is race heritage. Is he saying that poor countries should not host big events ? We have even bigger things than the F1 stadium. It was a private venture to make money. I dont think people get offended if one says India is poor.

They said the same things about our space program. We have started making money out of it now.

People will feel bad if someone is meaning to say that if you are poor you should not conduct any events. Should everyone stop seeing F1 on TV and deny them the revenue since we are poor ?

[deehunk]

Well said ajmat, we all know everything gets associated with Rich and Poor status in our country. I recall my first go-karting experience at Patel's Inn in 2007 when I turned out to be the only employee out of 7 of us to complete 7 laps without any issues. It was a team outing event, except me all other guys had a 4-wheeler license, my boss came to me and asked do you have prior experience in go-karting? This is not self-exaggeration, I told him that I learnt driving between the age of 7-8, thereafter I had never driven any 4-wheeler. Those were the days when owning cars for me was a distant dream. The other classic example of underutilization of infrastructure is our Kanteerava Stadium, it was left to rot after the National Games in 90's.

[sgiitk]

GP is purely a commercial animal. Hence the only logic is $, €, etc. I do not think logic has any place in this. Hamilton feeling that the Buddha circuit is in the middle of nowhere. It is just outside the Delhi NCR on the Yamuna Expressway. Herr Hamilton, remember Delhi NCR is bigger than every city in the UK, barring London.

[mxh]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Just came across a new article where Lewis Hamilton comments on India.

https://auto.ndtv.com/news/f1-race-i...milton-1947345

I guess these guys need more time away from the track to explore our country and the heritage.

He is rooting for two Grand Prixs in the UK.

Seriously do not think he knows the power of the Indian audience.:shockked:

I have personally met him in Bangalore. He actually drove the F1 car on the Nice road and commented that India " is such a nice place and the racing knowledge is so good "

Was a big fan until this statement.

The Indian GP was axed due to the tax disputes with the Indian government who wanted more taxes. So, it has nothing to do with drivers' comments...

[navin]

Originally Posted by srishiva

Now coming to F1 held in Delhi, I dont know what the response was with people's participation.

Originally Posted by ajmat

In South India, racing has happened in a similar way, Sholavaram was an airforce track, Sriperumbadur started as a basic track but built to FIA specs progressively.

Buddh - came out of nowhere. It is purely a vanity project. I gather running this track is ruining the JP group.

What Lewis is trying to say is that in poor countries, a swanky race track might be the least priority. A street race is more workable..

Firstly India has probably a greater love affair with cars than Mr. Hamilton might imagine. We had a Himalayan Rally Association (I remember names like Nazir Hoosein and Farad/Nawaz Bhatena) as far back as 1979-80 (maybe even before that). In this aspect India is unlike some of the other emerging markets like Turkey.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...flashback.html (Himalayan Rallying Experiences - A Flashback)

What is true is that most of India's car "culture" is not in the north. Just of the top of my head I remember more rally/race car drivers from the south than any other region of India.

• Narain Karthikeyan, N. Leelakrishnan, J. Anand, Sundaram (Kari) Naidu, V. R. Naren Kumar - Coimbatore
• Karun Chandhok, Armaan Ebrahim, Aditya Patel - Chennai
  
• Gaurav Gill - Delhi
• Jehan Daruvala - Mumbai

Buddh is illogical: costs, location, infrastructure, etc. I did see the last F1 there but I noticed that attendance was sparse especially for time trials and many if not most of the attendees (like myself) had complimentary tickets.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...-go-races.html

If Mr. Hamilton is basing his statements purely on his observations at Buddh he has gotten an incorrect picture both about the country and the nature and enthusiasm for motor sports here (wealth or lack of it notwithstanding).

Attendance is not related to wealth. Football and Hockey see very limited attendance in India and neither are "rich man's sports". Attendance is related to 'customer' experience and marketing. The better the infrastructure, the more the merchandise, the greater the hoopla, the better the attendance.

I (along with almost every teen age boy in Mumbai) was there in 1980 (when the Himalayan Rally was flagged off from Brabourne Stadium and the cars raced north on Marine Drive) and I there at the F1 at Buddh in 2013 and there was more hoopla at Brabourne in 1980 than at Buddh in 2013.

Sports, any sport, is more about enthusiasm than wealth. TBHP was built on the enthusiasm of a very small group of youngsters, enough said.

[libranof1987]

While I do find Hamilton's comment condescending, you can't really blame him as that is indeed the perception most people have about developing countries. However, I do find it incorrect: India's socio-economic problems needn't necessarily prevent the country from having a world-class infrastructure for F1.

I do find his other comments fairly immature: those about increasing races in the same region. His understanding seems to be fairly limited to the region he assumes to be the birthplace of motorsports and around Europe.

He seems to speak purely from a sportsperson point of view: just want maximum participation from passionate people. Economics, the need for a global outlook doesn't seem to have a lot of bearing on his comment.

[JoshMachine]

Phew! A lot has been dissected already (and why not!) and so quickly.
My $ 0.02 on the topic is that this could be about mainly 2 view points:-

• Lewis' actual personality traits (and the way he is perceived to be outspoken, glamorous etc.)

• The context of the comment made by him

And if we mix the two, the result (quite an explosive one, as can be witnessed by the intense trolling) is what we are seeing as quoted by the media reports.

Let me try to present my views on the 2nd point first.

With falling attendance (mostly attributed to digital technology replicating and sometimes bettering the visual experience at home along with the "roar" of those F1 speed machines) in so called established racing countries or geographies (leading to decline in ticket revenues), and with increasing costs (salaries, endorsements, branding, engine development research etc.) that the corporate sponsors have to keep up with, plus the attraction or incentive of catering to new and hitherto non-racing geographies (someone mentioned India in this list along with Vietnam) - the F1 bosses (Liberty Media for now) probably have no option but to expand the sporting footprints.

And in this context, that Hamilton probably made the remark that he still wishes to race more in the traditional geographies instead of opening up new vistas.
The catch is that "new" countries (maybe India or Vietnam) have a huge financial tap/influence especially in terms of the Television coverage but that does not necessarily translate into commercial success in terms of actual hosting the event. (And we have India's Buddh unfortunate story for vindicating this point).
So it is to be seen if another "new" country like Vietnam can pull this off or not, come 2020.

And now presenting my views back on the first point, that of Hamilton's personality.

When that chap made a comment on India's poverty in the same breath as that of the above context vis-a-vis new/unexplored countries, the statement is perhaps not "diplomatically" or "corporate" correct.
He is probably right in his own observation of the conflict that exists here - the general poverty perception vs. the massive and the beautiful infra that was set up for the grand prix.
And we have head more stories about how a buffalo and a BMW occupy the same Indian roads and so on and so forth.

But the point of this whole debate (and associated trolling) is that people expect (and rightfully so) a F1 star celebrity (and a global one at that, with an assumed large fan following in "new" countries like India and Vietnam) - to be sensitive about what is being actually said, and about what that will be perceived to be said.

Given that the fellow is no diplomat, but given that he has a global fan following (so much required for a sport that thrives on glamour) and finally given the fact that he is known to live quite a glamorous life off the track - he should probably take a lesson or two in handling such interviews or making such statements.
Is his PR agency reading this?

[SilentEngine]

I do not necessarily find anything out of order or offending in Hamilton's statements. He is merely stating his opinion. If we still had an Indian GP in the F1 calendar, showing financial success, i am sure he wouldn't have commented about India. From his comments, it seems he is primarily concerned about racing in front of empty grandstands.

Indian GP hosted in BIC was failure at all levels, except for may be the actual track design itself. I think track wasn't so bad compared to other Hermann Tilke designs, but that's about it.

Race attendance was 95,000 in initial year, dropped to 65,000 in second year probably lesser in third year. This in spite of massive reduction in the ticket prices compared to first year.

He is totally right about the track being in middle of nowhere. There was absolutely nothing near the track for a paying spectator spend time on during rest of the weekend. With that, it's hard to expect repeat participation from paying spectators.

The construction cost was about $450m, and annual cost including hosting fee was approx $50m. This is a massive investment. It's hard to recover that kind of investment without having buy-in from all the stakeholders (mainly the govts) and presence of paying spectators. If the track was located in a more accessible place, may be it could have worked out.

Originally Posted by Hayek

Actually just demonstrates how drivers may have no clue about where their pay cheque comes from. EMs and the US are the future of F1 - European audiences are not going to rise.

He does mention US in his comments, and is open to idea of having more races in the US. Other EMs, yes, if the track location is strategically located close to paying/urban crowd.

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Seriously do not think he knows the power of the Indian audience.:shockked:

Going by the attendance levels, Indian audience gave Indian GP a miss in 2012 and 2013, and going by Navin's observation, good chunk of the crowd were complimentary ticket holders.

Originally Posted by sgiitk

GP is purely a commercial animal. Hence the only logic is $, €, etc. I do not think logic has any place in this. Hamilton feeling that the Buddha circuit is in the middle of nowhere. It is just outside the Delhi NCR on the Yamuna Expressway. Herr Hamilton, remember Delhi NCR is bigger than every city in the UK, barring London.

Size of the region hardly matters. What matters more is if the people are willing to pay and travel to the track to watch the race. As a paying spectator from India, i would rather go to Singapore or Abu Dhabi to watch a race than go to BIC. I am saying this based on my own personal experience. I was an F1 marshal in 2011 Indian GP, and I went to watch Singapore GP in 2013. I can totally relate to what Hamilton is talking about.

Originally Posted by navin

Sports, any sport, is more about enthusiasm than wealth. TBHP was built on the enthusiasm of a very small group of youngsters, enough said.

+1 to this. Wealth is relative. What Hamilton considers as 'poor' may be perceived differently by us Indians. But as a racer, i think he clearly cares about enthusiastic crowd being present at the venue.

Here is an Forbes article about the kind of costs involved in hosting an F1 race.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2.../#7fad9e504f79

[myavu]

Now Hamilton tweeted this









Source: https://twitter.com/LewisHamilton/st...30144347070464


Cheers!

[arunphilip]

Yeah, much ado about nothing. I'm happy he's clarified, happier still he didn't apologize (I don't think he has anything to apologize for).

Maybe someone just needs to correct him that it wasn't public funds that paid for Buddh, and private investors are entitled to spend their money where they see fit. Apart from that, his initial comments and this clarification are a pretty honest assessment.

If anything, it just goes to show how we've managed to suppress our guilt/discomfort at being well off while poverty is still rampant - we can easily drive in our cars to a restaurant to drop a few thousands on a meal, while a family huddles under a polythene sheet on a roadside that they call home, and not have any pangs about it. Our children might, but then they grow to emulate us :-(

If we could spend less time getting offended about what he said/she said (particularly when they're foreigners), or - better still - save that angst for something more meaningful like farmer suicides, it would benefit our country.

[quickfox11]

It's the same story every time. A famous personality says something uncomfortable but probable truth, the whole nation boils to it (remember the Sharapova-Tendulkar controversy?). They issue some clarification and we are happy again.

We are able to assimilate the stark difference in classes in our country and their division based on financial status, others aren't. Very aptly said by @arunphilip - we daily pass through thousands of people who are apparently struggling to make the ends meet but we are able to see through them. But we become uncomfortable when someone says so at global level coz now that's gonna get everyone's attention.

On a side note, did he not hear about the Statue of Unity worth US$420 million??

[pratyush6]

I think we become touchy whenever something remotely negative is spoken about our country by a foreigner/non resident Indian. I have personally felt this too; while discussing about India with my Canadian colleagues. I almost inherently try to 'defend' India.

While I completely understand, a lot of these perspectives are limited (as like our beliefs about the Western World) but they aren't entirely untrue. The fact is that India is a land of contradictions, it has both immense beauty and filth, uber rich and ultra poor, malnutrition and obesity.

Lastly, we shouldn't be so touchy about this and should welcome people speaking their mind and not sugar coating everything. If we are so touchy about such things, why don't we work to eradicate it? I think it's good Lewis put some context and perspective around the utter waste of the BIC and the cash grab that the authorities wanted in the name to 'luxury' tax.

[Vishal.R]

Each country has its own share of problems, and It’s not a secret that our country is facing major challenges like poverty and unavailability of very basic resources (e.g nutrition / water / health / education / electricity etc.) to many of our fellow Indians.

Even if he had praised our country so much and argued for re-staring of F1 in India, these issues won’t have solved, so in that way his opinion either positive or negative doesn’t matter much.

But let’s not forget that Lewis is not only a sportsperson but also enjoys all perks (read brand endorsements) of being a “celebrity” and therefore needs to act more responsibly, especially need be more careful about political correctness.

He should have asked to luxury brands (which he endorses) like Mercedes Benz / Tommy Hilfiger first what they are doing in “such a poor country”?

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Maybe someone just needs to correct him that it wasn't public funds that paid for Buddh, and private investors are entitled to spend their money where they see fit.

Does it really matter?
You are right in general, that it's private investment, but when you see that the same group which invested in F1 track has staggering amount of unpaid debts with PSU banks, eventually requiring various government measures (either to classify as NPA or bail out the banks) means indirectly the money is coming from the tax payers' pocket.

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by Vishal.R

But let’s not forget that Lewis is not only a sportsperson but also enjoys all perks (read brand endorsements) of being a “celebrity” and therefore needs to act more responsibly, especially need be more careful about political correctness.

Look at where Political Correctness has gotten us. Everyone is either politically correct or inflammatory, with absolutely no balance or their own mind in between. It is so untrue even as part of our culture and tradition. Historically, India was once a place where; opposing views could be spoken and resolved amicably without the cacophony that persists today.

Lets, just talk about facts - has Lewis lied or slandered our country? No, he hasn't. The facts can be ugly, but we need to accept them. Because unless we accept, we don't improve. Lastly, how do you think Lewis should have conveyed his message? It's almost like the case where Kohli asked a fan, if you don't like Indian bastmen, why do you live in India?

Everyone's entitled to their opinions, not facts.