Indian Grand Prix
The Indian Grand Prix was a Formula One race in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship, which was held at the Buddh International Circuit in sector 25 along Yamuna Expressway in Gautam Buddh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh from 2011 until 2013.
The first edition took place on 30 October 2011, as the 17th race of the 2011 Formula One season. The inaugural race was won by Germany's Sebastian Vettel. Jaypee Sports International Limited was the organizer of Formula One racing in India and had signed a five-year contract with Formula One Management to host the championship in India.
In August 2013, the FIA announced that the Indian Grand Prix would miss the 2014 edition before returning to an early-season slot in 2015. Subsequently, due to a tax dispute with the Uttar Pradesh government, the 2015 edition was cancelled and its possible return delayed until 2016. However, no resolution was found and the Grand Prix has not since been restored to the calendar.
History
As early as 1997, there were plans to host an Indian Grand Prix at Calcutta. In 2003, India had only two permanent raceways, one in Chennai, and the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. At that time two sites in the vicinity of the Bangalore airport were examined. Also, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu reserved of land near the airport at Hyderabad. Vicky Chandhok, father of Karun Chandhok, stated in an interview: "Andhra Pradesh is really pushing it like no other state! It is great to see a Chief Minister pushing so hard. Bangalore is a great location, mainly because of the weather". In December 2003, a seven-year pre-agreement to host the GP in Hyderabad in 2007 was signed. The track was to be built near Gopanapally village, near the outskirts of Hyderabad, and consisted of of land.However, in 2004 competition arose from Mumbai, to change the location from Hyderabad to Mumbai.
Formula One commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone expected India to host a Grand Prix within three years, aiming for locating at either Hyderabad or Mumbai. In the end these projects were never realised, possibly owing to anti-tobacco legislation, and a change in government policy. Both projects then were declared "dead" in the second half of 2004, when Mumbai's government decided "not to waste money on car fumes while there are more serious issues", and the Hyderabad location was converted to an IT park for technology companies. However, sites at Mumbai were still being investigated. In 2005, Narain Karthikeyan was due to demonstrate a Jordan Grand Prix car in Mumbai, but the road proved to be too bumpy.
In 2007, five locations remained in the running for hosting the Indian Grand Prix: Bangalore; the Gurgaon district in the state of Haryana; a permanent track somewhere near New Delhi; a street circuit in New Delhi, as proposed by Vijay Mallya; and a site in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
Following months of negotiations, the Indian Olympic Association and Ecclestone announced in June 2007 a provisional agreement for India to host its first Grand Prix as a part of the 2009 Formula One season. The track would be built in Gurgaon, in consultation with architect Hermann Tilke.
However, in September 2007 it was announced that the debut race would take place in 2010 on the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida. After further assessments of the timeframe involved, Ecclestone announced in September 2008 that the Indian Grand Prix had been delayed to 2011.
In October 2008, the Renault F1 team showcased their car on a tour across all the sites which were previously linked to a Formula One circuit in India, except Mumbai: Gurgaon, Lucknow, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata. In November 2008 they also performed a street demonstration on Rajpath at the India Gate end, New Delhi; the car was driven by Nelson Piquet Jr. In August 2009, the McLaren team showcased their car in Lucknow. On 11 October 2009, the Red Bull Racing team gave a demonstration in Mumbai. David Coulthard drove the Red Bull car across Mumbai's Bandra–Worli Sea Link.
The Indian Grand Prix had the potential to generate around $170 million in revenue and employ as many as 10,000 people. The opportunity in advertising tie-ups between manufacturers and Formula One were also a consideration. The race coincided with the important Diwali holiday, when consumer spending is typically at its highest and many people are traveling, which further improved economic prospects. It was one of the few F1 races at the time that were not subsidized by government, and the venue had to pay $40 million per year to Formula One Holdings to host the event.