Formula-1 2014 Indian GP To Be Axed


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Due to high local taxation the F1 sport is doubtful in the upcoming year.
There is concern between Eccelestone and Jaypee group on revenue sharing.
Where the latter has to pay royalty to F1 and gain revenue only on sale of tickets.
Such a sad news.
It was a tweet from SVP.
 
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India F1 Faces Axe in 2014

[frustration][frustration][frustration]

BUDAPEST: The Indian Grand Prix is likely to be dropped from next year's Formula One calendar as Russia prepares for its debut, commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said.

"Is India going to happen next year? Probably not," he said at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Asked what the problem was with the race at Greater Noida, near New Delhi, the 82-year-old British billionaire replied: "Very political."

Ecclestone, who has run Formula One for decades, draws up the calendar and usually presents it to the governing International Automobile Federation to be rubber-stamped in September.

He currently has a possible 22 races jostling for space on the calendar with teams expressing a strong preference for a maximum of 20.

Russia, with a debut race pencilled in for the Black Sea resort of Sochi towards the end of next year, and a Grand Prix in New Jersey are the two novelties planned for 2014 with Austria also due to make a comeback after an 11-year absence.

India first hosted a Grand Prix in 2011 to positive reviews from the Formula One community and this year's is scheduled for October 27 as the 16th round of the 19-race championship.

The two races to date in India have both been won by Red Bull's triple world champion Sebastian Vettel.

There have been bureaucratic hurdles to overcome, however, as well as concern about finances and the sport's exposure to high local taxation.

Promoters Jaypee Sports International issued a statement last month attacking "totally baseless and malicious" media speculation about next year's race.

"Our agreement with Formula One Management is to hold F1 races at Buddh International Circuit (BIC) till 2015 and we are fully committed to do that," said Jaypee spokesman Askari Zaidi in that statement.

"There is no reason for us to give up hosting F1 races."

Next year's Indian Grand Prix was the subject of much discussion in Hungary, with teams recognising it faced problems but hoping they could be resolved.

"It would be a pity if for these (tax) reasons we don't go there," Sauber's Indian-born principal Monisha Kaltenborn said.

"India is an important market for partners who are already in Formula One or who could get into Formula One because of that market so it really would be a pity if we would not manage to sort out these problems."
Source:Indian F1 Grand Prix faces axe in 2014 - The Times of India
 
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Re: Formula-1 2014 Season To Be Axed in India

And now it's confirmed.


After a day full of speculations, it has now been confirmed – the Indian Grand Prix will be dropped from the 2014 F1 Calendar. However, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has also confirmed that the F1 circus will duly return to the Buddh International Circuit in 2015, albeit at an earlier date.

It was at the Hungarian GP that Bernie Ecclestone had first cast doubts over next year’s Indian GP. There was a strong possibility of the BIC’s 2014 slot be given to one of the new GP venues being added to next year’s calendar. That stands true. Either the Russian GP or the New Jersey Grand Prix would take the slot vacated by India.

In return, the event promoter Jaypee Sports, who had signed a five-race deal to hold Formula One at the BIC, will now get a slot in 2016. Also, the cancellation of the 2014 round will bring along further tweaks to the 2015 calendar where the Indian GP is most likely to be a part of the early fly-away races in the Asia-Pacific region. However, it is yet to be confirmed how the Indian GP be slotted alongside other Asian races like the Malaysia, China and Bahrain.

Bernie Ecclestone had made it clear in the past that he would prefer the Indian GP to take place in April rather than October. So far, the Jaypee group had managed to convince Bernie for an October date, but it seems the F1 boss will now have his way and slot the 2015 Indian GP most likely during summertime. This change in schedule wouldn’t be possible with a race in October 2014 as it would have been difficult for the promoters to successfully pull off two races in a span of six months.

During the Hungarian GP, Bernie had described the ‘political’ conditions prevailing in India to be one of the reasons to drop the event in 2014. And the fact that our Government levies massive amounts of import tax on F1 teams shipping equipment into and out of the country has left quite a few teams bitter. So, this gap between the 2013 and 2015 races should give the promoters enough time to mend ways with the Indian authorities and we are hopeful that our honourable Government recognises Formula One as a ‘sport’ in the coming years.

What happens to the F1 race at BIC this year? As of now, it’s very much a part of the calendar (fingers crossed) and this could be our last chance to listen to the 2.4-litre V8 engines before they are replaced by the new 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged engines next year.

Source: BBC TopGear Magazine India Blog - Confirmed: No Indian GP in 2014
 
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350Z

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Re: Formula-1 2014 Season To Be Axed in India

This is the reason behind cancellation of Indian F1 GP: Ecclestone claims Indian GP cancelled because Jaypee Group didn't comply with contract.
In a sensational twist to the Indian Grand Prix controversy, Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has said its promoters Jaypee Group have not fully met their contractual obligations to see through the five-year deal.

Jaypee, in a polite yet firm retort, refused to discuss the contractual terms in public and promised to sort them out with the Formula One Management (FOM), thus by inference confirming that the whole issue has now boiled down to financial matters.

Ecclestone told IANS from his London office on telephone that he and his organisation was still committed to see through the five-year contract, provided what he calls some “surmountable obstacles” are sorted out.

He said the Indian GP promoters have not fully complied with the race contract, which has put the 2015 race in jeopardy. It now transpires that the tax and bureaucratic hurdles for the uncertainty of the race returning to the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) were only a facade and not the only reasons.

Ecclestone’s startling revelations come days after he said that he wants the race to be pushed to 2016 so that the country “gradually gets over all the bureaucratic and the tax issues to improve the general financial conditions”. His statement fuelled speculation whether the race would ever see through the remaining two races of the contract.

Ecclestone hastened to add that he was still hoping India would get back on the F1 calendar next season.

“I was hoping that things would get better in India but they haven’t unfortunately. The race promoters there have not been able to comply with parts of the contract and they are mostly money-related. I must clarify here that we still have very good relations with the promoters and we still want to see through the remaining two years of our contract. But that can happen only if we get the financial guarantees,” said the 83-year-old Monday night, adding that Jaypee did meet most of the terms of the agreement in the first three years (2011-2013).

For his part, Jaypee Sports International CEO Sameer Gaur told IANS that it would not be prudent to make the contractual details public and reiterated he would soon meet Ecclestone to bring the race back next year.

“It would not be right for me to talk about the contract with anyone else other than Mr. Ecclestone and FOM. I am already in touch with him but you can’t expect me to discuss publicly what transpires between us. We will soon meet to sort out the issues and am confident the race will be back next year,” said Gaur, whose company shells out around $40 million a year to host the race at a time when it is also feeling the heat of the current global financial criss.

As it is, history shows it is tough for a race to return in the increasingly crowded calendar. The 2014 season will see Austria’s comeback and then the F1 caravan travels to Sochi, Russia, for the first time.

Ecclestone said India has two months to settle the issue and if things fall in place, it might not have to wait till 2016 to make a return.

“I am still trying for 2015 and we have got about two months’ time to make that happen. We have loved the organisation in India and it is a fantastic circuit. We really want to get back. I hope the promoters are able to sort things out soon, otherwise it would be difficult in the future to slot them in an already packed calendar,” said the British businessman, who last week said that Azerbaijaan was among the possible venues in 2016.

Underling India’s potential, he went to the extent of saying that the country has more potential than Asian giant China, who have been successful hosting a Grand Prix in Shanghai since 2004.

“India is among the few new F1 venues where people understand the sport and want to understand it better. That is why I have greater faith in India than China,” he concluded.

Source: Link
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350Z
 
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Re: Formula-1 2014 Season To Be Axed in India

Vettel won races with consummate ease in 2013, will he be a champ this time too or there is someone else who ca defeat him. looking forward to it very curious for it.
 
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AMG

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Re: Formula-1 2014 Season To Be Axed in India

Whats with the thread title???

It should read Indian GP axed, and not "Season" axed
 

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