I agree that Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and China don't have motor sport tradition either and shouldn't have priority to hold GPs. Yes Jaguar is owned by an Indian companyy and Aston Martin by an Arab company, but who built these "most illustrious motoring traditions in the world" ? British engineering and decades of development!!! Tata just bought itself 80 years of tradition, but wouldn't dare to move Jaguar production to India, would it? Jaguar are still designed by British engineers and built by British by British craftmanship! Why don't they put Tata badge on the Jags now that the company belongs to them? I wonder why ... India, like all newcomers, should first built a motorsport tradition, create an active base of PARTICIPANTS in motor sport, built national championships, build circuits, have a national calendar of competitions at regional, national and later international level, promote motor racing at the lower end of the scale first, bring in amateurs, develop championships in several disciplines, interest local car makers to develop suitable vehicles (touring cars, GT, single-seater...) and sponsor their series, etc... That's the way to create motor sport tradition in a country, and it takes time. Going out with a cheque book and "buy yourself a GP" at the first opportunity isn't the way to go about it, although Ecclestone is all for it, of course! Past the initial curiosity, GPs organised in countries with no fan base usually fade away after a while, when the organisers find the cost prohibitive, or the government feels it has achieved the exposure it needs. We have seen GP held in the Far East with hardly anyone in the stands!! How long do you think this is going to last? F1 is well supported in countries where there is already a good sport structure, like Europe, North America (the US surely), or Japan. They have plenty of different series in kind of disciplines, strong national championships with millions of knowledgeable fans hopefully rewarded once a year by a GP. Frankly, having a GP in India or Singapore and not in the US or France is just plainly ridiculous and lower the prestige of the World Championship.
You got that right!! 68 millions of viewers in India who won't even understand why an Indian named Chandook is not winning the race, because they have absolutely no clue about F1!! They will also think that Mallya buying a team will bring them success ... As for buying power; how many of these TV viewers would travel the world to watch other GPs? How much do they spend on their F1 'hobby' ?
Depends on what the sponsor is promoting? Etihad, Red Bull, Monster, Vodafone, Virgin, Johnnie Walker... all brands for the middle class masses. Definitely more opportunity for growth in India over the UK. Ferrari will soon have multiple dealerships in Indian too. The number of Ferraris in India or under Indian ownership is growing and will outpace China. Not my words... spoken by Luca himself. If the Sponsor is promoting local or regional banks like Santander.... Brand awareness for a future market of over 1 billion people.
This thread is closed. Please refrain from racial or ethnic insults -- discuss the drivers/teams/etc.
