FIA chief Mohammed Ben Sulayem aims to ‘break barriers’ to facilitate F1’s return to India

FIA chief Mohammed Ben Sulayem says that he is pushing to see more big motorsport events in India, and comments that F1 'can come back' to the country.

FIA chief Mohammed Ben Sulayem aims to ‘break barriers’ to facilitate F1’s return to India

Lewis Hamilton during the 2011 Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix

Formula 1 first hosted the Indian Grand Prix in 2011, with Sebastian Vettel winning the race. The German would win the subsequent two editions as well. But it was never held again – which means Vettel is the only driver to ever win the Grand Prix. The plan earlier seemed to be that it would have a ‘hiatus’ of one year in 2014, but return to the grid in 2015. This never happened, and F1 hasn’t returned to India since.

Why? Primarily due to tax disputes. There’s also the fact that attendance fell after the first year. The venue had a capacity of 100,000 people and in 2011, it came close to filling that with some 95,000 attendees. This figure dramatically fell to 65,000 people in attendance, and then in 2013, only 40,000 tickets were sold for the event. The race was also not government-subsidized – according to the BBC, the venue had to pay $40 million (per year) to Formula One Holdings in order to host.

The tax dispute between Formula 1 and the Uttar Pradesh (where the circuit is located, in Gautam Buddha Nagar district) government came from the fact that F1 was not considered a sport, but instead, entertainment. So the organizers had to pay taxes and duties on everything associated with the event. FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, did recently say that any organizer will ‘question the costs’ and does not think F1 is needed in India.

But despite all that, Ben Sulayem would be happy to see the sport return to India. That is if they ‘stay and leave an impression’. Speaking to PTI, the FIA President said: “It has been long [since India hosted a big event] but it is something we welcome. We don’t want events to come just and go but we want it to come and stay and leave an impression.That is why planning for motorsport is very important because you don’t want investment which goes into the racing [to be wasted].”

The ‘other challenge’ according to Ben Sulayem, is sustaining the status of and interest in motorsport (or the event). He said: “The infrastructure has to be utilized by the Indians. Also, you had Formula 1, you had F1 drivers – two in total – and now [Formula E]. But what does it show? It shows that sustaining it is the other challenge.” As for an F1 return, the Emirati said: “Of course, it can come back… The opportunity is there and I have to break these barriers to ensure it happens. The FIA is for all the members.” but he is also, in general, ‘pushing for more events’ in India.

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Mohammed Ben Sulayem hints at India and China being areas of focus for FIA

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem

Only two Indians have ever been Formula 1 drivers: Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok. Karthikeyan drove in 48 Grands Prix for Jordan, and later, HRT while Chandhok drove in 11 for HRT (in 2010) and Lotus (in one race, in 2011). The Indian who is closest to being an F1 driver right now is Jehan Daruvala, who’ll drive for MP Motorsport in F2. 2023 will be his fourth season in F2, and his promotion prospects are not particularly good.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem wants motorsport to grow in the country and told Autocar India: “As the FIA, we are international. If we want to grow motorsport and mobility, we have to reach all markets. It doesn’t make sense to me that the two biggest countries in the world – India and China – with all of their manufacturers have just 8,000 [competition] licence holders of motorsport, whereas some countries like Finland, which has less than 6 million population, has over 12,000 [licence holders].”

The Emirati also added that the focus must be on ‘grassroots level development’ and building a culture for motorsport. Most Indian motorsport fans can agree with this sentiment. The best way to facilitate this, according to Ben Sulayem, is to let the national authority and local clubs come up with their own plans – as Indians know what is best for them. He believes India has the ‘power’ and the ‘top people’ (and now the representation), referring to FMSCI President Akbar Ebrahim’s appointment to the FIA’s International Karting Commission.

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