[shortbread]

It seems theres still hope for India to make it into 2016's F1 calendar. If the government really wants to show the world it can cut red tape, there's no better example than this!

Barely a week after it appeared the Indian GP won't return to the F1 calendar next year, Bernie Ecclestone has given them fresh hope.

The South Asian country made its Formula 1 debut in 2011 and the Buddh International Circuit near New Delhi hosted the race for three seasons before it was dropped ahead of the 2014 campaign due to tax and bureaucratic issues.

Indian papers reported that the race was unlikely to return in the near future, let alone 2016.

However, F1 supremo Ecclestone says they are still in negotiations with promoter Jaypee Group.

"I hope we have a race in India next year. I am waiting for the promoters to come back to me," he told the Press Trust of India.

"We will do whatever is needed to make sure India is back. There are no added challenges to the event.

"We just need the Jaypee Group to say that 'we are happy to carry on' and we can revive the existing contract."

Pushed on a deadline, he said: "They need to be in a hurry. Within the next two months, we need to know."

source: http://www.planetf1.com/driver/55667...month-deadline

[Chetan_Rao]

Existing thread here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intl-m...-2016-a-4.html

Nothing in the report suggests anything has really changed since the last time.

Jaypee group still wants a tax-break and a handout to stage the race, the government is unwilling to oblige, and Bernie isn't really interested because he has a bunch of Far Eastern government-backed venues ready to line his pockets.

Initial novelty aside, the Indian GP was never really a practical long-term idea and it's hard to see how that's going to change anytime soon. Even if the event makes a few one-off appearances (seems implausible), it has no steady future to speak of.

[GTO]

This is all lip-service. Bernie wants F1 to return to India on his terms. Jaypee would be willing on their terms. As Chetan says, nothing has really changed.

End of the day, the Jaypee Group is a business. They aren't going to continue burning cash endlessly. Whatever they wanted out of the F1 project, they've probably already got.

The Group itself is in trouble and I doubt they have the bandwidth for F1 anymore - related news.

[D33-PAC]

A little off topic. For all you Delhi guys - did land rates rise around the race track ? I remember reading the largest holder of land around the race track was the JayPee group. I guess this is also one of the ways they wanted to monetize everything.

[polopm]

Originally Posted by GTO

This is all lip-service. Bernie wants F1 to return to India on his terms. Jaypee would be willing on their terms. As Chetan says, nothing has really changed.

End of the day, the Jaypee Group is a business. They aren't going to continue burning cash endlessly. Whatever they wanted out of the F1 project, they've probably already got.

The Group itself is in trouble and I doubt they have the bandwidth for F1 anymore - related news.

I promised my son that I will take him to the next Delhi GP - when it happens. Wishful thinking ??

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by shortbread

If the government really wants to show the world it can cut red tape, there's no better example than this!

I hope the Government does not do so.

The Government has so many more avenues to demonstrate its intent, almost all of which will bring in better returns than a sporting event that is rapidly declining in popularity and relevance.

An Indian GP would make sense when the sport itself enjoys some sort of mass following in the country - what is the point of bringing in what is allegedly the biggest event when the sport itself is a marginal old boys club at the grassroots level? I would like to know how many people even in this select, small 'enthusiast' community here have actually participated in any kind of motorsport event at any level - you will probably find that its less than 1% of total membership. Watching TV does not make us motorsports enthusiasts.

We should learn from Greece's experience not to spend billions on ridiculously expensive sporting infrastructure that sees occasional or sporadic usage.