Majorly due to the success of Netflix’s Drive To Survive, a dramatised documentary of the Formula One season, Formula One has had a huge rise in popularity among global sport viewers. It has helped F1 crucially crack the American market, and the viewership of F1 worldwide has been on a steady rise over the past 5 years. Around this time, the new Indian fans who have come to F1 must wonder how India has had a negligible footprint on the sport. This is therefore a look into the relationship between Formula One and India.
In 2011, Vijay Mallya invested in Force India and the franchise went on to have 2 podium finishes during its stint in Formula One. It had various sponsors over the years like ICICI Bank and Kingfisher etc. However in 2018 the franchise went into administration in the F1 as it ran into money problems. Lawrence Stroll saved the franchise by removing the debts of the franchise and saving the 400 odd employees in it and the franchise was rebranded into Racing Point, which later became Aston Martin.
There were 3 Formula One races hosted in India from 2011 to 2013 at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida. Sebastian Vettel won all 3 races and the 2013 win secured his fourth Driver’s Championship, which led to the iconic photo of him bowing to his car. Formula One didn’t return to India due to a tax dispute that arose between the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and The Formula One headquarters in London. A whopping 90,000 fans showed up at the inaugural 2011 edition of the Indian Grand Prix, which indicates that India is definitely a huge untapped market for F1.
There have been two Indian drivers in the history of Formula One. Coimbatore’s Narain Karthikeyan was India’s first Formula One driver and had 3 active seasons of participation in the competition. Chennai’s Karun Chandhok was the other Indian driver to compete in Formula One and had a rather forgettable stint. An Indian driver is yet to take a pole position in qualifying or set a fastest lap in a Grand Prix, let alone win a Formula One race.
Formula One is not a sport that is native to India and will never break through to the masses like other sports have. However, it is in the best interests of F1 to cater to their massive Indian audience and who knows maybe one day we will watch an Indian driver navigate the streets of Monaco or, dare I say, win the Driver’s Championship.
Image : Narain Karthikeyan (Screenshot from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC23KwpXILM)
