India has stepped up its efforts to secure a Formula 1 return in 2028, with Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announcing the creation of a dedicated task force to assess the country’s motorsport ecosystem and the feasibility of reviving the Indian Grand Prix. The plan could bring F1 back to the Buddh International Circuit more than a decade after the venue last appeared on the calendar.
Mansukh Mandaviya is convinced that Formula 1 could help strengthen India’s international profile. The minister had previously gone as far as prematurely announcing that the Buddh International Circuit would return to the championship in 2027. That statement proved somewhat hasty, prompting Formula 1’s commercial rights holder to reject claims that a 2027 Indian Grand Prix had already been agreed.
However, Formula 1 did not deny its broader interest in returning to such a vast country and commercial market. During his mid-season press conference, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali acknowledged that discussions were taking place with Asian countries over potential new Grands Prix. Those talks do not concern China or Japan, where the conditions are not yet considered suitable for a second race. Stefano Domenicali has also outlined the requirements for reviving the Indian Grand Prix at Buddh.
India’s F1 return plan shifts towards 2028
With the 2027 Formula 1 calendar now appearing to be almost finalised—unless the war in the Persian Gulf forces the championship to reconsider its options—the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems prepared to postpone its ambitions by only one year.
Mansukh Mandaviya recently announced that he had convened prospective investors with the explicit objective of reaching an agreement with Formula 1’s commercial rights holder for 2028. The development was reported by leading Indian newspaper The Indian Express, which also quoted the sports minister directly.
“We will establish a task force charged with conducting a detailed assessment of the motorsport ecosystem in the country and examining the challenges associated with its growth,” Mansukh Mandaviya said.
Task force to assess the economic impact of an Indian Grand Prix
The committee will naturally be expected to evaluate the economic implications of organising a new Indian Grand Prix. Formula 1 previously raced at the Buddh International Circuit on three occasions between 2011 and 2013, but the event subsequently disappeared from the calendar.
One of the central questions will concern costs and public investment. These would include the fee required for a Formula 1 hosting contract and the work needed to modernise the circuit originally designed by Hermann Tilke. The facility is located near Greater Noida, one of South Asia’s largest industrial centres, approximately 40 kilometres from the Indian capital of New Delhi.
Those expenses will have to be weighed against the potential revenue and wider economic benefits generated by the event, including new employment opportunities and increased tourism. Assessing whether those benefits could justify the necessary investment will therefore be one of the task force’s most important responsibilities.
Sport added to government investment priorities
To support that objective, sport has been added to the list of priorities pursued by India’s Department of Public Enterprises. This could allow additional resources to be allocated to the wider sporting sector and, more specifically, to the organisation of a possible Formula 1 Grand Prix in India.
The initiative gives India’s bid a more formal government structure after the premature claims surrounding a 2027 race. No agreement for an Indian Grand Prix has yet been confirmed, but the creation of the task force shows that the country is now pursuing its Formula 1 ambitions with 2028 as a clear target.
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