[khaadu75]

Originally Posted by appuchan

I hope it will be located quite outside the city limits, like Sepang in Malaysia which is also the place where KUL airport is located. Maybe it would have been good if they constructed the F1 circuit near cities like Bangy or Hyd where all-new airports are being built as per international standards. No offence to NCR-ites

Hey, Seems a lot of you are very unaware of the conditions of the roads in Delhi , so before typing away I suggest you guys fly down to Delhi and then comment . The roads in Delhi are probably the best across the length and breadth of this country ( apart from the highway stretches ) !! The present Govt has been doing a great job as far as the infra structure of the city is concerened , after all the Common Wealth gamesa are also around the corner .

As for doing the roads for the F1 ( incase its a street race they decide on ) it definitely won't be the PWD , things have changed a lot as far as construction of roads is concerned around here . There are a dime a dozen fly overs that have come up across the city and all of them have been given to private contractors with very strict dead lines , the penalty per day for not completing it by the decided date is about 50K per day . Also none of the fly overs are falling apart within a few montsh of coming up so these guys must be doing a good job with it -- !!

As for the airport .. Delhi is upgrading the airport as well , and very soon you shall see the all new look airport which wud be capable of handlinga lot more than what it is doing as of now . DON'T UNDER ESTIMATE THE GOVT , Mrs. Sheila Dixit is doing a great job and if she wants Im sure she can pullof the F1 race as well .

As for other cities dreaming of hosting the race .. I don't think thats happening , if the race does happen in 2009 , then it has to be in Delhi and no where else .

But let Sept come .. thats when we will get the exact picture !!

Cheers

[nitrous]

Originally Posted by vid

Are any of the tracks in India upto international standards for any racing event? I dont know as I haven't been to one just asking to know.

Some mildly international races have been held at the Kari Motor Speedway,Coimbatore.

Originally Posted by ac427

second, our crowd is not ready to pay 2 K or 3 K for the tickets. Please dont expect this to be a cheap spectatre sport. i sincrely think we are not ready at lest for the next 5 years.

Dude,I dont know if U follow F1,but there's a sizeable amount of fan following in the country.This would be an excellent opportunity for Indian F1 lovers since they don't need to pay for International air tickets for viewing a race.
We don't mind paying 5 or 10k too....

Originally Posted by ac427

F1 form the first year will NOT be a sport that will give tons of revenue. Why should the govt invest in it ???

Evidently, U're speaking without any idea.
Imagine the kind of Foreign revenue when F1 followers from all around the world travel to our country to watch it. People might mix it with a tour around the country which can easily make the tourism industry make hundreds of millions.
And about the Airport facilities,nkapoor has already answered.

[ST7677]

Originally Posted by ac427
second, our crowd is not ready to pay 2 K or 3 K for the tickets. Please dont expect this to be a cheap spectatre sport. i sincrely think we are not ready at lest for the next 5 years.

Do you have any idea how much people are spending today on Shakira, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, etc, etc?
And the number of F1 fans we have here...

[ess_a]

Dont know why many of us are sounding so pessimistic. In fact it should be us motorheads who should be the front runners in encouraging this sport here in India. There will be ppl like Mani Shankar Aiyar, who would say all crap, but we should always remain gung ho about this entire thing.

As far as people who believe this entire thing cant be done, I think you all read Khaadu's post.
One should remember that one of the first things in India that was ready BEFORE its deadline, was the phase 1 of Delhi Metro...
In fact the city that CAN and IS in position to be F1 ready by 2009 is none other than NEW DELHI...

[suman]

Attaboy Nitrous, Nitin & Saazid, thats telling them ...........I've been keeping quiet for a while lest I sound biased (being from the NCR as it were!) but, objectively speaking, I think that Delhi has the space & the infrastructure & whatever else is required if all put their heads together & collectively work towards it.

I do think that a lot of people have forgotten that the Commonwealth Games are round the corner and those who haven't been in these parts for a while really have NO IDEA of the kind of rapid development that's taking place, be it by way of roads, transportation, airports, flyovers, hotels....and what have you! For those of you who remember what the Asiad did for the face of Delhi (in terms of RADICALLY altering it), this shouldn't be too difficult to visualize.

So, biased or otherwise, I do feel that if at all - it will be in Delhi. As for how many can afford it - you'd be surprised LOL. I know I'll be a regular for years in a row irrespective of the cost....and I'm confident there are MANY more like me as Nitrous also mentioned. And, as in all the other GPs, don't forget that there will be a HUGE collection of foreigners who literally go around the world following the F1 circus. So methinks the stands will be packed.

So lets raise a toast to the proposal & hope it gets pushed through & becomes a realitycheers:

[tsk1979]

Delhi may be the best, but is it good enough.
Commonwealth games are in 2010, and yet many of the planned projects are not going on schedule.
There are 2 options
1. Street circuit around india gate which TOI keeps harping about.
Now is this feasible. Its a high security are, do you think the internal affairs ministry will allow a gathering of 100,000 people in such a sensitive area, close to parliament house? Its really comical. This very idea shows lack of common sense in many of our respected dailies.
2. A dedicated circuit
This option can be done, but currently there are very few areas in the "State of Delhi" where it is possible. Of course if you look at the entire NCR, there are vast tracts of land between Greater Noida, Noida. Faridabad, GGN etc., but the aim is to have it in proper delhi, not in UP or Haryana.
So land has to be looked at inside Delhi also. Going by the history of large land aquisitions by the govt(we are looking at 150 acres minimum here) this will take time.

So as I see it everything is looking good in paper. There is the will and nod blah blah blah. But is it "possible" to do so in 2009.
Its like saying we will convert all the National highways to 6 lane expressways by 2009. Even if the govt sanctions the funds its not going to happen.

[suman]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

1. Street circuit around india gate which TOI keeps harping about.
Now is this feasible. Its a high security are, do you think the internal affairs ministry will allow a gathering of 100,000 people in such a sensitive area, close to parliament house? Its really comical. This very idea shows lack of common sense in many of our respected dailies.

I don't know TSK but discussions have certainly been held, haven't they? The CM, the track designer, the king of good times, the F1 head honcho - and it all centered around the street circuit. As long as they keep the stands a good distance away from the Parliament House proper, I don't see the issue. I think India Gate sees enough people every day as it is

[appuchan]

I am not sure if we should go for a street circuit considering that we do have enough space outside the city for a dedicated track. And I dont think there is much difference in cost, either ways.

Moreover street circuits will have the disadvantage of difficulty in providing security, possible lack of alternative roads for regular users, providing makeshift/perm arrangements for for viewers and galleries, preventing/reducing "free views" from nearby buildings and other "pole" positions, noise and air pollution casued by these monsters etc. I would always prefer a separate enclosure where people can go, pay good $$ and enjoy the pollution!

For the small Monaco, they have no other space and also helps its main bread winner - ie. tourism.

[suman]

Originally Posted by appuchan

I am not sure if we should go for a street circuit considering that we do have enough space outside the city for a dedicated track. And I dont think there is much difference in cost, either ways.

The problem is, as Tanveer has pointed out, most of that land falls in the neighbouring states of UP & Haryana. Its the Delhi govt that has been involved in the talks, one is not sure how much progress would be made if the UP & Haryana govts were approached with the proposal.

[khaadu75]

Originally Posted by suman

one is not sure how much progress would be made if the UP & Haryana govts were approached with the proposal.

Suman, Do you want me to elaborate how the talks wud go if the CM's of the states of Haryana and UP get involved -- though one thing for sure is that both the CM's will agree and infact support it totally as Mrs. Gandhi has control; over both teh CMs . One being Congress and the other needing the centre to keep the cases against her under wraps .

As for Delhi region .... there are vast tracts of land still with the Govt , only thing that as of now they may not look very tempting as a venue . Lets just hold our horses till about Sept , and thats when we should be in a better position to discuss .

According to me , its still a long long way off - 2009 , NO WAYS ~~ 2019 , MAYBE

Cheers

[shazikon]

Unless a street circuit is going to be used, F1 in Delhi makes nosense..Some pointers
- Building a new race track around Delhi makes no sense. It could be any where in india?? and a lot cheaper than around Delhi. aquiring 300acres of land around Delhi is not easy, they would have to go to Haryana or Punjab for that..
- Delhi is always a security threat be it for the govt, people or the F1 participants...for that matter even a street circuit is gonna be a huge threat and going to be a monumental security task for the govt.
-Motorsports wise why Delhi?? i have nothing against my co-BHPians in Delhi but there is much higher fan following and Motorsport activities down south.
- Why does Delhi have to host everything? asian games, commonwealth games, olympic??
- Delhi has some extreme weather conditions, unless properly timed its going to difficult for the cars.

[RacingForIndia]

Finally...... I'll need some time to absorb this bit of news.

[spadival]

Originally Posted by ac 427

second, our crowd is not ready to pay 2 K or 3 K for the tickets. Please dont expect this to be a cheap spectatre sport. i sincrely think we are not ready at lest for the next 5 years.

Come on.. its like once in a lifetime thing. I was ready to spend 24k (during my bachelor days .. of course ) on a main straight paddock ticket @ Hungarian F1.. But my damn project was going live on the same day

one circut of formula 1 will cost around Rs 300-400 crore, will indian govt. spend this much amount only on circut? .

[RacingForIndia]

F1 puts a country on global map, firmly. You get visitors from across the globe, car manufacturers, and ofcourse investors who sit up and take notice.
Hosting an F1 race means your country has the infrastructure required to host world class events.
People do associate the growth of a country to the type of auto industry, which exists in that country.
This is a general perception and I think it does make sense.
So F1 is not just a big spending event, it’s a doorway to new frontiers and global acceptance for infrastructure development.