Opinion How the wheels came off F1

It is a shame that Sebastian Vettel will not be here next year or,indeed,in the years to come. But it is perhaps fitting that the image of the all-conquering German lying prostrate on the tarmac after his victory will be our lasting memory of the Indian Grand Prix.

It will mercifully replace other not-so-flattering images from the event. Images such as a dust-covered track with a dog running across it. Or an unfinished facility in the first year of the event. Or M.S. Gill dismissing the race as “entertainment,not sport”. Or a petulant Ajay Maken complaining in 2011 that he was not invited for the race because he was “not a cheergirl”.

What hurt the race most was Gill’s attitude towards it. As sports minister,he presided over the disastrous 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG). When India got a second chance to exhibit its organisational abilities by hosting the Grand Prix,Gill’s prejudices came in the way. That F1 was entertainment and not sport became the government’s unofficial stand,and it still is. Gill’s assertion begs the question: Isn’t sport essentially a form of entertainment? Are the two mutually exclusive?

Motor racing is as as fiercely competitive as any other “sport”. In fact,it may be even more so. A driver is up against not only the rest of the field,but also his own teammate. It involves exceptional individual skill and there are well-defined rules of engagement. It may be extreme,but it is still mainstream,as its global fan-following suggests. There are no national teams,but patriotic fervour runs close to the surface in at least two of the big teams: Italy’s Ferrari and Britain’s

McLaren (Force India,too,is seen as an Indian outfit). Yes,the teams keep changing identities — Jaguar became Red Bull,Jordan became Spykar became Force India — but weren’t the San Francisco Giants known as the New York Giants back in the day?

Admittedly,there is one big difference. In other sports,the corporate sector is primarily a sponsor; in motor-racing,it is a player. Among the current teams,Mercedes,Ferrari,McLaren,Lotus,Caterham,Marussia are automobile manufacturers. Red Bull,which has two teams,is an energy drink major. French automobile firm Renault had a team till 2011 and now supplies engines to Red Bull,among others. The Italian company Pirelli provides tyres. If you add up the annual revenues of these companies (not teams),the figure comfortably crosses 100 billion euros. Simply put,motor racing is not entertainment alone,as the Indian government perhaps believes. Neither is it just a sport,as the casual observer might assume. Motor racing is a sport of business.

An F1 grand prix is a great PR exercise to show the who’s who of the corporate world just how efficient and investment-friendly the host country is. Unfortunately,all the Indian government did was impose unreasonable taxes on teams and invoke frivolous customs duties. This is apart from the hassle of reams of paperwork.

Before the inaugural race at Greater Noida,McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said that the Indian GP had taught him many lessons — it made him realise that the Indian tax authorities were “some of the trickiest,or most challenging,in the world”. It’s a view that must be shared by McLaren’s primary sponsor,Vodafone.

The GP’s discontinuation suggests it is a myth that India Inc can deliver in spite of the government. The CWG was cited as an example of the government’s ineptitude,whereas the 2011 race was hailed as the epitome of the Indian private sector’s efficiency. Two years later,those very corporate race promoters,Jaypee Sports International (JPSI),are seeking the government’s help to rescue the race. Not inviting the country’s sports minister to the inaugural race betrayed a lack of political foresight. JPSI had chosen to woo Mayawati in the run up to the Uttar Pradesh elections. To use an F1 term,it was like running on soft tyres,faster but not durable. As the Samajwadi Party came to power in Lucknow,the Indian GP’s wheels came off.

On the final day,a JPSI top official was willing to “bet his life” on the assumption that the race would be back. But if it runs the way did in the first three editions,it had better not return. No PR is better than bad PR.

daksh.panwar@expressindia.com