Emirati former rally driver and current president of the FIA Mohamed Ben Sulayem is confident the Indian Grand Prix will be able to return on the Formula 1 calendar in the future as he is working on finding even other important motorsport races to be held in the Asian country.
The 2023 Hyderabad E-Prix took place on February 11 and was the maiden Formula E event that took place in India. It was in fact the fist major international motorsport event held in India in the last decade.
The FIA president was present at the premiere of ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in the capital of the southern Indian state of Telangana, which proved to be an outstanding advertisement for fully electric racing. Mohamed Ben Sulayem was interviewed during the race weekend and pointed out how “important India is” in terms of international motorsports market, explaining that increasing the popularity of the sport in this area was one of the key points included in his programme before his election at the top of the FIA more than one year ago.
“In my manifesto, I had mentioned how important India is. Not because I am here, not because I am the president,” Mohamed Ben Sulayem said in an interview for Autocar India, as reported by motorsportweek.com – “India and China both have the manufacturers, both have the numbers. We have not scratched the surface yet. I mean it when I say this. We are talking about 2.8 billion people in these two countries and we have less than 8000 competitive licenses. We need to grow but how do we grow? There is no one size that fits all. India is different so we have to listen to people here. We have to empower ASN [National Sporting Authority – Indian Motorsport is represented by FMSCI] to make sure that we are doing the right thing” – the FIA president added.
The Formula E event which was held last week on the 2.816-kilometre street circuit at the shores of the Hussain Sagar Lake represents the end of international motorsport’s absence from India. At the same time the country is experiencing a somewhat revival given the fact that another important race is scheduled to take place in the near future. The premier class of motorcycle road racing event is going to the Buddh International Circuit, the venue that also hosted the F1 Indian GP a long time ago, at the end of September. For MotoGP it will in fact be the maiden event in the country.
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Mohamed Ben Sulayem has pointed out that he wants these events to take place also in the following years and he is confident that they “will stay and leave an impression ” in India.
“It has been long [since India hosted an international 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 infrastructure has to be utilised 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.” – the FIA president continued.
The F1 Indian Grand Prix was held from 2011 until 2013. In August 2013, FIA confirmed that the Indian Grand Prix would be missing from the 2014 F1 calendar before returning to an early-season slot in 2015. However, due to a tax issue with the Uttar Pradesh government, that decision too was ruled out and the Indian Grand Prix did neither return for the 2016 championship nor has it ever since.
A return of Formula One to India is closely linked to affordability and Mohamed Ben Sulayem feels it can most likely be obtained through street circuits, in a similar way to that of Hyderabad’s Formula E venue.
“These are circuits we believe will help build motorsport culture, it will make the sport more appealing, more than appealing it will make it affordable. I am pushing for more events in India and affordable vehicles and we passed that already in the FIA general assembly. We have a new identity for karting and cross cars.” – he added.
When asked directly if Formula 1 is currently considering a return to India, the 61-year-old replied: “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.“
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