Oops, the Korean GP was 2010. I've had zero sleep because I was up at 3am emptying my stomach. You might call it dedication, I call it insanity. As you were, everyone.
Could be worse. You could be the F1 driver that vomited in their helmet from food poisoning in 2007. Speaking of 2007, the people born that year are now old enough to drive.
@@ZGtx I don’t know what it is. I woke up with my throat on fire so I dunno if I had a mini sick in my sleep and my body’s gone “aw sheeeit I guess this is happening”
As an Indian who always wanted to attend these races, sad that I didnt get the chance. Although the track is maintained and regularly used for Supercar trackdays and hosted MotoGP in 2023 also
apparently the moto gp race last year was also a shit show. There was a moto gp mechanic who talked about that weekend but forgot what the video title. It's not a surprise it was cancelled this year and I think thats the last the world will see or hear about the circuit. Other than the back part of the track, it looked alright. Not the best but had character unlike most of the modern circuits nowadays
@@SirHRDkingBoy I have got news for you. Apparently MotoGP has signed a contract to bring the Indian GP back to the calendar in 2026. And the shitshow in 2023 had less to do with the organizers and more to do with shady third parties the teams came across for logistics.
MotoGP visited the Buddh International Circuit in 2023. The teams found the facilities were very poor, the infrastructure was non-existent, the hotels were appalling and the visa application process took months causing many team members not being able to attend due to not having a visa despite having applied 6-8 months prior. India didn't return to the calendar in 2024 and the 2025 event has already been cancelled.
typical generalization and zero context! Please elaborate what do you mean by poor infrastructure? there are places in Britain that are nothing pretty to write about !! Hotels were not appalling at all there was one specific team who booked a hotel without looking at reviews of the place, didn't even take into consideration where other teams were staying and randomly booked a hotel where locals wouldn't even go to on a good day and decided to make a video on it because apparently his grandfather was a colonizer. The Visa delay issue is completely on Dorna Sports they chose someone who couldn't differentiate head from his ass and selected the wrong visa and when this was brought to the notice of Indian govt that's when it got sorted. There is a reason its not returned because Dorna wanted more money ! stop blaming India for everything !
@ Isn't it strange how F1 had the exact same issues 10 years before then too? Must be a coincidence that this has happened every time any motorsport has gone there.
@@tdyerwestfield Not Indian govts fault if you cant fill up a god damn visa application form. There is a specific requirement in place and you need to follow it to the T and this information is publicly available. Dorna chose a middleman or a representative which filed applications on their behalf and screwed it up. Similar situation happened for F1 as well you dont file for tourist visa when there is a separate category for a sports visa. I mean how thick can you be to screw this up. There have been several International level events that have been organized in the past in India which have athletes from multiple countries participate and they have had no issues and those who had were filing a wrong visa or required additional background checks. The problem is since majority of the events happen in Europe and majority riders are of European across all Moto formats so they dont have to file for paperwork and handful of those who arent have passports that allow them to travel without visa or its visa on arrival for them and I doubt they had any clue about how to go about the event. Personally speaking I believe there had to be better communication and proactiveness shown from Dorna. If you are organizing an event for the first time in a country which is apparently an important market for you, then you dont leave a stone unturned. The additional problem is that everyone thinks that India will just role out the red carpet for them just because they are organizing an event please think again.
The state of Tamil Nadu where Chennai is, is on a mission to make Chennai the Detroit of India. The city has a lot of factories from global car brands. The Indian F4 championship is going on and I think the finale is this weekend at the Kari Motor Circuit. The lack of race tracks are a problem in the state but they managed to built a street circuit in the island grounds in Chennai and hosted a floodlit night race for the F4 cars. They opened a new Karting Arena next to the FIA grade 2 circuit in Chennai called the Madras International Karting Arena (MIKA) for short. Karun got MIka Hakkinen to officially open it at the Singapore Grand Prix weekend. Karun, Mika and Narain then went on to have a friendly kart race around the facility. So yeah, Motorsport is slowly getting its grassroots in India. Another FIA grade 2 circuit is opening soon. They're building the facilities for it now. The track layout is complete. So yeah there is a future..
The only thing I remember about the Indian Gp was Mr. Bean in the Mclaren Garage in 2011 And of course, Seb's doughnuts in 2013, which brought me into Formula 1
The same things happened with motogp in 2023. Visa issues tax issues, no hotels for teams in the area. Dropped from the calendar this season. And i believe world superbikes also tried getting it on the calender mid 2010s but it didnt happen due to shipping taxs
I'll try. It's difficult sometimes because you find a really good version of the track for rf2 or Assetto Corsa and it's a straight rip of the Codemasters track which is many illegal.
Well so is the case in football & basketball & volleyball & god knows how many other sports. But considering our government's push for electrification, & still considering vehicles as a luxury & heavy taxes, i doubt f1 will return anytime soon. Even the shittiest smallest cars are charged a minimum of 42% before getting listed on the website (over 50% in most cases, +125% duty if the vehicle was not built locally) Then there's 6-12% road tax at the time of purchase. which is extremely bizarre & frustrating considering they still charge tolls for any half decent road.
Tbh racing in India is a shit show when looking at the management side, we've had 3 world championship events in different categories and each of them is fooked - 2011-2013: Indian GP, F1 - Cancelled because of HEAVY taxation - 2023: Hyderabad E-Prix, Formula E - Elections and politics in the (administrative) state - 2023: Bharat GP, MotoGP - Organisers didn't have enough money, more or less the same story of F1 but repeat. All of these events are either cancelled or their futures are in ambiguity despite the country having the largest population.
@@CyanRooper Yes. Turns out it gets rather humid in September just after the monsoon season. Who knew? It honestly feels like everyone involved in organising these races is doing it just to say we did it, without actually meaning to do it. Because I don't know about you, and I'm probably biased, but I'd rather watch a race in India than Qatar or Saudi
2:06 man, Sepang is an awesome track….why cant we get that back? Maybe a few races that take turns every other year? Sepang and Kyalami should get races again.
Races taking turns would be fine to me, ESPECIALLY fine if it cuts down on the 20+ races we're doing. I'm sure we will not miss ALL of the middle eastern tracks... One of those slots should just be swapped out for Kyalami entirely. If it can be Grade 1 that is. Why is it suddenly not? They've hosted F1 before.
@Exponaut_R-01 agreed! I think we have too many races in the middle east at a time. To be honest, I think 4 North American race are too much...drop one of the US races for another South American race every other year. Sepang should come back, and South Korea too. As for Kyalami...track standards and safety has progressed a massive way since the last time Kyalami was used for F1. I'm sure there's lot of auditing to be done for a Grade 1. I think that's probably why they rather considered a brand new Cape Town street race ....as the costs to go new vs getting Kyalami back to Grd1 was likely similar. As much as I think Cape Town would be the best F1 venue on earth... I'm really over street circuits now. The Formula E track is pretty good tho... especially for spectators.
Drop Miami for Sepang, I'd hit yes on that trade without a second thought. That or the squiggle marathon I mean Saudi Arabia, or drop both for Sepang, less races.
Korea and India may be unique for being a racetrack that ran only in one specific F1 era. In this case, the Korean and Indian GP ran exclusively in the high-nose V8 era dominated by Sebastian Vettell.
The answer to that is actually very simple. Under Indian tax law all professional sports events fall under the category of 'entertainment,' which has been the case since the modern Indian nation was created in 1950. Various sporting bodies have tried various loopholes to get around this, so far all of them have failed. The tax breaks Bernie was hoping for were never, ever going to happen.
Because motorSPORT as you know it doesn't exist in India. Owning a car is still a dream for most. Being able to buy a motorcycle to be able to get to work easier is a luxury. India's never had uber-rich barons driving around in circles on abandoned airfields, so it never developed and never needed any legislation written around it. Not to mention the goal for most sport in most places is to get young people into it. No one's getting into racing by watching it live here. It is impossible to even dream. So why bother It should be a sport. It just never will be
Because all sports performed in front of an audience are a form of entertainment???? All the major sports leagues including motor racing in the US for example are incorporated as entertainment companies because entertainment companies get better subisidies, tax breaks, and higher levels of private investment, not only that but there's a lot of things you can do as a sports entertainment organization that you aren't legally allowed to do as a strictly sports organization. At the end of the day sports are entertainment and if they're taxed differently in a country its up to the government of that country to decide which sport is a sport and which sports are entertainment. The Indians labeled motorsport as entertainment, as is their sovereign right.
I have never gotten to drive Buddh in any sim. Not even the F1 games because I didn't have time back then. I'd love to see it added to iRacing since the track isn't just still standing, but has been added to the MotoGP calandar recently. It was interesting to hear the MotoGP guys talk about how the visa issues were a problem for them also.
I'm pretty sure I happened to miss every instance of this race going up. Wacko Timezones (in comparison to North America) + School = Playing the F1 2012 game 5 years after I wanted it and going "wait what there was a race here?"
That track was decent . Not as good as the track in Istanbul , Sepag or any or of the classics like Spa or Suzuks but still much better than current dross the drivers have to drive around in Miami.
I've been to Spa a number of times for the F1 race since 1989 and managed to get to Suzuka in 1995 as part of a three GP trip that included the Pacific GP the,weekend before and the last race in Adelaide two weekends later (I did go to 11 of the 17 races that year). I'd like to have seen the Turkish track but never made it. I did go to Turkey three times in the 1990s mainly for trips to Gallipoli. People did ask me if there was a F1 race there at the time (I did go to a lot of F1 races). I don't think my internals would survive India though!
@@simonkevnorrisit's much bette here compared to 2010's Finally infrastructure, environment, foreign investment , and household income , and standard of living all are up, some parts are still not upto the standard bcz it's a massive country with a lot of people , but most cities ull have a great time in india I would love a race in mumbai down the worli sea link( Google it) and a proper circuit is being built by the government in a completely new and investment friendlu city called gift cuty
The same tax situation that ended the Indian GP also happened somewhat in Vancouver with the Indycar/CART race that took place on the streets around BC Place. With that event, there were a couple of things that led to its demise. One was that like in India, the BC provincial government viewed CART as entertainment instead of a sporting event & as a result, refused to give it any kind of tax break. The other was that local residents hated the noise of the cars & having local streets blocked off even though the race generated a ton of revenue for the city of Vancouver & was popular with both fans & drivers. Throw in the turmoil CART was going through after 2003 when it went bankrupt & re-branded to Champ Car & it basically made the 2004 race the final one held in Vancouver. This was because Champ Car didn't want to race in an area where they would be taxed & they replaced Vancouver's date on the schedule with an oval race at the Milwaukee Mile for 2005. Indycar has not been back to Vancouver since & likely won't be anytime soon given how the series is currently stagnant when it comes to adding events or making other changes that would increase interest.
@AidanMillward One circuit you should cover is the Oscar & Juan Gálvez Autodrome which used to host the 🇦🇷GP, it hosted it in 3-4 different eras but had several year gaps between each era, like the Toy Story films.
Awesome video, Indian GP was great, would be cool to see it come back, then again i would also be cool to see Malysia and South Africa return plus ther are too man races these days so what do you do
Buddh much like Kuala Lumpar and Istanbul Park are the only Tilke tracks worthy of respect. Like you said, it's a shame neither will come back because of FOM's fixation with the USA and the Middle East.
There’s nothing wrong with the FOM fixating on the US and the Middle East. These are countries that want F1 and the government is wiling to help bring it to their citizens. Compare that with India where the government doesn’t even bother to help but taxes the shit out of it. And then European countries like Germany, UK, Belgium where the government doesn’t give a shit about F1 and expects the track owners to cover up everything despite the massive tourism the country benefits from it. It’s like expecting private people to completely pay for the Olympics or the World Cup which 100% is a government sponsored event. Frankly the Middle East and the US deserves F1 more than Europe and India.
@ “the UK government doesn’t give a shit” The motorsport industry is worth billions in exports and the government has been investing bigly in it with grants over the last ten years.
The Indian government were stretching it a bit calling an F1 race entertainment weren't they. I haven't found this to be the case in at least 2 decades.
The most remarkable India moment was Rowan Atkinson react to a Lewis x Massa scruff that was ongoing in 2011. Other than that, it was dreadful to wake up at 6am on a sunday for the race
"Is it entertainment or sport" Meanwhile, Indonesia has a much clearer tax law: every spectator event is subject to taxes levied by regional (provincial or municipal), usually 10%.
I don't think people quite understand how little folks in India knew about F1 when races were being held there. And I'm not just talking about the general population, I'm also talking about the people attending the races. I was in the main grandstand in 2013 and I can very confidently say that more than 50% of the seats in the main grandstand were sponsored seats. People who had come out for an afternoon activity without having a clue what they were watching were occupying those seats. And I'm not just making statements here. People couldn't differentiate a Red Bull from a Toro Rosso. People were clueless as to why would someone running at the front pit and lose positions. There was a very old lady sitting right behind me knitting, and getting annoyed by all the sound (I have a photo of her knitting!). On the last lap there was a Toro Rosso running about 20 seconds ahead of Vettel (on the track, not racing for positions) and people mistook the TR to be Seb and starting cheering for the driver when he crossed the line (he still had a lap to go). Seb crossed the line and a lot of people had no idea it was the race winner. Ofcourse people started cheering for Seb when he celebrated winning his 4th title, but it was such a shame that more deserving fans weren't in the stands to celebrate with him. The embarrassment I felt that evening still runs strong.
I was never a fan of the track myself purely from a viewing perspective and the empty seats were shocking (although I understood why they would want to stay away). Secondly, nothing wrong with a watching a game of cricket. Plus, in light of Spa 2021 and Las Vegas 2023 - if there's no show in cricket due to rain or other extenuating circumstances, they give you your money back - try telling that to the greedy pigs at FOM!
12:17 the same visa issue happened again for the 2023 MotoGP race, was only solved by government intervention. The same tax issues (I think) require MotoGP teams to draft all-new contracts for the Indian race
As a track, in my opinion, it was one of those weirdly average current venues. Whereas Shanghai had those strange, never-ending corners, Jeddah is just Monza with walls, and COTA is copypaste from various other sources, India stands as a sort of "featureless" one (apart from the banked turns). And this is not a bad thing! It was somewhat refreshing for a track not to feature this, that, and the other, or Tilke trying to create something even bigger than his previous tracks.
2:16 also there were plans to hold in Kolkata Now there are plans to hold one in Gujarat Also BTS there was supposed to be a FIA GT1 Race and a WSBK round
@@JohnSmithShields “one of the hunger jumpers was blind! It was amazing listening to a labrador scream at 200ft. you know he was getting close to the water cos the lead went slack” Core memory unlocked.
Regarding your closing statements on whether the govt will see value in funding it: it's tough, we all saw how they regarded it while it was on the calendar. Though, we have made leaps and bounds in progress at least at the state level in certain parts of the country to get racing back on the map in the south we managed to get a full 3 tier car racing championship going including an official national FIA F4 championship which costs "only" 70K for the season, which has attracted drivers from all around the world to run F4IC as a winter series. They even got endorsement from the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (the state that houses Madras and Coimbatore, the two main motorsport cities in India), Udhay Stalin (yes he's actually called that) to publicly come to the event and show that he supports it, and also has managed to get tweets of support from the Prime MInister Modi. So the road ahead is no doubt long and arduous but for the first time since we lost the Indian GP it feels like there is a glimmer hope in the motorsport community that things will get better and we will be able to carry our weight in the international motorsports world :)
also as someone who lives in Gurgaon oh my lord that was so bad hahaha hearing you say the name was a stark reminder of why i just tell people i'm from Delhi when i am in the UK
I wonder how it feels having 200+mph airflow tearing around a helmet... I was always very proficient with racing games, but I've thought deeply about driving something open-cockpit and I don't think I'd be able to get over having nothing between myself and the death. I'd end up babying it, machines built to race REALLY do not agree with being babied-along (from what I understand, it's actually much more difficult to drive them that way)... if they smell fear they will eat you. They want hot brakes, warm tires and cold sweat. Put me in a GT car or LMP-x00 though and I'd give it everything in me!
Isn't MotoGP running into similar issues with the Indian MotoGP, or did they sort all that out?On paper it's a really nice track, and the F1 and bike races were decent to great, but I wonder if other categories could work there, like WEC or whatever is happening with touring cars and the FIA, and so on?
Here's context about GDP growth; the UK has averaged a GDP growth of 0.05% since 2022, so Hyderabad having 8% GDP growth in 2010 (the middle of the aftermath of the 2008 global recession) was very good.
@@AidanMillward I first heard of it in passing from cricket (my boss is Indian and a massive IPL fan) and also from Formula E racing there, but apart from that I know nothing of the place.
@AidanMillward Mastering Buddh was like getting the level of spice in a curry just right. Too little, u can’t taste a thing, too much, both your mouth & arse are on fire 🇮🇳 🍛
The tax problems have been sorted out in the sense that if the race returns it will get the exception. However, the lack of proper race organisers is another issue now. It ruined the MotoGP event. After the 2023 race, the 2024 race was cancelled and now the 2025 race won't happen. The fan base is 10 times bigger now in India. And if Formula 1 sees potential in the market, the only way a race is gonna happen is if F1 buys the circuit and foot the bill of hosting the Grand Prix like they did in Las Vegas. Maybe invest in flood lighting the track like in Bahrain and hosting a night race to ensure the European audience can tune in properly. There is only money for Cricket here. Nobody is gonna risk footing the bill and paying those incredible race hosting fees.
Be fair, he's not Indian. Can you say Machynlleth?* There are c. 200 countries on this planet and thousands of living languages. No one should be expected to be able to say everything, which is what many "fans" seem to demand. * Go to Wikipedia.
@y_fam_goeglyd Dude is making a video about it (I assume monetized) he has the responsibilty to do a proper research of his material - out of respect for the subject he is presenting, and - as a responsibility to his viewers to provide them a proper information. If he can't do it the least he can do is to apologize and gives a heads up that his information might be poorly research/lazily presented
Forget it. I have it on good authority that the bureaucracy has not been tamed and there are fees payable for the privilege of paying other fees which will be processed six months after your intended visit. Or so I've been told.
If At least 1 of the Indian billionaire decides to invest in f1, every hurdles would go away due to their money and influencing power. The Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s net worth is over $100B. For example, Laurence Stroll has a net worth of $5B.
The sad thing is that it will never return, because F1 is hell bent on hosting 97 races in America. And that is unfortunate, because if an Indian Grand Prix were to happen this weekend, it would be packed to the rafters. People here are absolutely mad for F1 at the moment, and have been for a good 5 years.
Having travelled to India several times between 1994 and 2001 I was unsurprised to learn of the difficulties faced by F1 in terms of obstructionist bureaucrats. Like cricket, they learnt it from we Brits, and like cricket, they elevated it to the status of a religion. Utterly maddening until you realise you can make it all go away by putting a few dollars in the right hands.
As a f1 fan since 1972 who lived 2 miles from lotus factory I think f1 has " jumped the shark" much responsibility for that goes to drive to survive, the over dramatized show antics were unsubstanable
I wouldn't describe cricket as a very boring game. On the few rare sunny days we get in the UK a cricket match is a great opportunity to sit in the sunshine getting drunk. Who cares what's happing on the pitch? it's all about the drinking.
Did I mention I'm not an economist, don't worry, neither is Rachel Theives. Chasing the bucks goes on, there's now the talk again of ,er, rotating some European F1 races .
First on the subject on the Indian GP, I'm really sad to see it not on the calendar. Other countries ... with questionable human rights and evil rulers ... thats right the US has two GP's. But India a country with a billion people only got a race for a few years ? :( Onto the question in the thumbnail Is f1 Entertainment or Sport, Prior to 2021 it was a sport. After 2021's ending being completely scripted ? Entertainment, Welcome to WWF1
the track was terrible. they were not taxed out, they just never want to pay a cent in tax. but f1 is supported by corporate welfare with millions in race fees from countries or cities.the worst part was the announcers kept there was a lot of dust in the air. when it was actually the terrible pollution in india.
I never understood why India got a GP in the first place. It just felt like a cash grab and it wouldn't last on the calendar, just like Korea. And I was right
Oops, the Korean GP was 2010. I've had zero sleep because I was up at 3am emptying my stomach.
You might call it dedication, I call it insanity. As you were, everyone.
Excellent video as per Aidan. Thank you sir.
“As you were, AM”
I thought people called it food poisoning
Could be worse. You could be the F1 driver that vomited in their helmet from food poisoning in 2007. Speaking of 2007, the people born that year are now old enough to drive.
@@ZGtx I don’t know what it is. I woke up with my throat on fire so I dunno if I had a mini sick in my sleep and my body’s gone “aw sheeeit I guess this is happening”
“Glock meanwhile in his Virgin needed permission” is a bizarre quote out of context
"Is that Glock? Is that Glock going slowly?"
You ALWAYS need permission get in a virgin. Using a glock to get permission would be forceful coercion.
He respects women 💁🏻♂️
Fun fact: Only three drivers have led the Indian Grand Prix
Sebastian Vettel (153), Mark Webber (21) and Felipe Massa (6).
It's the same for South Korea too if I remember
Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber
As an Indian who always wanted to attend these races, sad that I didnt get the chance. Although the track is maintained and regularly used for Supercar trackdays and hosted MotoGP in 2023 also
apparently the moto gp race last year was also a shit show. There was a moto gp mechanic who talked about that weekend but forgot what the video title. It's not a surprise it was cancelled this year and I think thats the last the world will see or hear about the circuit. Other than the back part of the track, it looked alright. Not the best but had character unlike most of the modern circuits nowadays
Just remember our Iroquois ate their captives. And they all over 6 foot tall.
Iroquois ate their captives and they all over 6 foot tall. Theresa, I love you.
I tried two times to respond. The Iroquois ate their captives and they all over 6 foot tall. Theresa is a 6 ft 1 inch tall powerful woman.
@@SirHRDkingBoy I have got news for you. Apparently MotoGP has signed a contract to bring the Indian GP back to the calendar in 2026. And the shitshow in 2023 had less to do with the organizers and more to do with shady third parties the teams came across for logistics.
"Cash is king." - Mahatma Gandhi
“F1 is entertainment, it ain’t a real sport” -Mahatma Ghandi
Thank God Ghandi wouldn’t say anything as dumb as that.
“Never back the early kick off” - Gandhi
"It's all about the Benjamin's"
“Chat shit get banged”
@@AidanMillward ah so say the ancient prophecy of Jamie Vardy and the Blue WKD sect I doth believe
MotoGP visited the Buddh International Circuit in 2023. The teams found the facilities were very poor, the infrastructure was non-existent, the hotels were appalling and the visa application process took months causing many team members not being able to attend due to not having a visa despite having applied 6-8 months prior. India didn't return to the calendar in 2024 and the 2025 event has already been cancelled.
typical generalization and zero context! Please elaborate what do you mean by poor infrastructure? there are places in Britain that are nothing pretty to write about !! Hotels were not appalling at all there was one specific team who booked a hotel without looking at reviews of the place, didn't even take into consideration where other teams were staying and randomly booked a hotel where locals wouldn't even go to on a good day and decided to make a video on it because apparently his grandfather was a colonizer. The Visa delay issue is completely on Dorna Sports they chose someone who couldn't differentiate head from his ass and selected the wrong visa and when this was brought to the notice of Indian govt that's when it got sorted. There is a reason its not returned because Dorna wanted more money ! stop blaming India for everything !
Here's a butthurt Indian 😅@@TK-hp2qo
@ Isn't it strange how F1 had the exact same issues 10 years before then too? Must be a coincidence that this has happened every time any motorsport has gone there.
@@TK-hp2qothey can’t even run a proper F4 championship mate
@@tdyerwestfield Not Indian govts fault if you cant fill up a god damn visa application form. There is a specific requirement in place and you need to follow it to the T and this information is publicly available.
Dorna chose a middleman or a representative which filed applications on their behalf and screwed it up. Similar situation happened for F1 as well you dont file for tourist visa when there is a separate category for a sports visa. I mean how thick can you be to screw this up.
There have been several International level events that have been organized in the past in India which have athletes from multiple countries participate and they have had no issues and those who had were filing a wrong visa or required additional background checks.
The problem is since majority of the events happen in Europe and majority riders are of European across all Moto formats so they dont have to file for paperwork and handful of those who arent have passports that allow them to travel without visa or its visa on arrival for them and I doubt they had any clue about how to go about the event.
Personally speaking I believe there had to be better communication and proactiveness shown from Dorna. If you are organizing an event for the first time in a country which is apparently an important market for you, then you dont leave a stone unturned.
The additional problem is that everyone thinks that India will just role out the red carpet for them just because they are organizing an event please think again.
The state of Tamil Nadu where Chennai is, is on a mission to make Chennai the Detroit of India. The city has a lot of factories from global car brands. The Indian F4 championship is going on and I think the finale is this weekend at the Kari Motor Circuit. The lack of race tracks are a problem in the state but they managed to built a street circuit in the island grounds in Chennai and hosted a floodlit night race for the F4 cars. They opened a new Karting Arena next to the FIA grade 2 circuit in Chennai called the Madras International Karting Arena (MIKA) for short. Karun got MIka Hakkinen to officially open it at the Singapore Grand Prix weekend. Karun, Mika and Narain then went on to have a friendly kart race around the facility. So yeah, Motorsport is slowly getting its grassroots in India. Another FIA grade 2 circuit is opening soon. They're building the facilities for it now. The track layout is complete. So yeah there is a future..
The only thing I remember about the Indian Gp was Mr. Bean in the Mclaren Garage in 2011
And of course, Seb's doughnuts in 2013, which brought me into Formula 1
The tire marks left by Vettel's donuts are still there. Him bowing down to his car is one of the most iconic images of the sport.
@CyanRooper Are they?
Wow, I thought Moto gp raced there. Now they do, don't they?
You get a like purley for the jezza quote
I always loved this track in the F1 games. One of the better Tilker tracks
The same things happened with motogp in 2023. Visa issues tax issues, no hotels for teams in the area. Dropped from the calendar this season. And i believe world superbikes also tried getting it on the calender mid 2010s but it didnt happen due to shipping taxs
More of these lap experiences in track focused stories please. 👏🏾👏🏾
I'll try. It's difficult sometimes because you find a really good version of the track for rf2 or Assetto Corsa and it's a straight rip of the Codemasters track which is many illegal.
@@AidanMillward why not show it from the official F1 games?
@ cos you can’t get em on steam anymore.
'...saw F1 as entertainment, not a sport...' - Very far sighted of the Indian government.
Sadly that's indisputably the case now.
How is it a sport if they tell drivers to 'swap the cars'? Wait, F1's always done that
Well so is the case in football & basketball & volleyball & god knows how many other sports.
But considering our government's push for electrification, & still considering vehicles as a luxury & heavy taxes, i doubt f1 will return anytime soon.
Even the shittiest smallest cars are charged a minimum of 42% before getting listed on the website (over 50% in most cases, +125% duty if the vehicle was not built locally)
Then there's 6-12% road tax at the time of purchase. which is extremely bizarre & frustrating considering they still charge tolls for any half decent road.
The definition of Sport is “…a competition held for the entertainment of the participants and spectators…”
@@o2benaz weird definition though 😅
Not every sport is a competition and not every sport has spectators 👀
@@TheTobeyGaming Professional sports=$$$$ENTERTAINMENT$$$$=taxes. If you are not getting paid it is a hobby.
Was always a favourite of mine on the games. Loved it!
Tbh racing in India is a shit show when looking at the management side, we've had 3 world championship events in different categories and each of them is fooked
- 2011-2013: Indian GP, F1 - Cancelled because of HEAVY taxation
- 2023: Hyderabad E-Prix, Formula E - Elections and politics in the (administrative) state
- 2023: Bharat GP, MotoGP - Organisers didn't have enough money, more or less the same story of F1 but repeat.
All of these events are either cancelled or their futures are in ambiguity despite the country having the largest population.
Didn't the MotoGP riders also suffer from the extreme heat of the Indian weather?
@@CyanRooper Yes. Turns out it gets rather humid in September just after the monsoon season. Who knew? It honestly feels like everyone involved in organising these races is doing it just to say we did it, without actually meaning to do it. Because I don't know about you, and I'm probably biased, but I'd rather watch a race in India than Qatar or Saudi
I think the country having 50% poverty shows their organisational ability,
@@tturi2India can host cricket tournaments completely fine. It just doesn’t have the interest in any other sport.
@@paperplane-db8qf that I cannot disagree with
2:06 man, Sepang is an awesome track….why cant we get that back? Maybe a few races that take turns every other year? Sepang and Kyalami should get races again.
Races taking turns would be fine to me, ESPECIALLY fine if it cuts down on the 20+ races we're doing. I'm sure we will not miss ALL of the middle eastern tracks... One of those slots should just be swapped out for Kyalami entirely. If it can be Grade 1 that is. Why is it suddenly not? They've hosted F1 before.
@@Exponaut_R-01well yes they did race there, but that was in 1993 for the last time...
There were some things happening between then and now 😅
@Exponaut_R-01 agreed! I think we have too many races in the middle east at a time. To be honest, I think 4 North American race are too much...drop one of the US races for another South American race every other year. Sepang should come back, and South Korea too.
As for Kyalami...track standards and safety has progressed a massive way since the last time Kyalami was used for F1. I'm sure there's lot of auditing to be done for a Grade 1.
I think that's probably why they rather considered a brand new Cape Town street race ....as the costs to go new vs getting Kyalami back to Grd1 was likely similar. As much as I think Cape Town would be the best F1 venue on earth... I'm really over street circuits now. The Formula E track is pretty good tho... especially for spectators.
Drop Miami for Sepang, I'd hit yes on that trade without a second thought. That or the squiggle marathon I mean Saudi Arabia, or drop both for Sepang, less races.
@@Exponaut_R-01 dropping both sounds like an awesome idea 👀
Its especially unfortunate because this one of F1's most beautiful tracks too
1:05 the pause is everything
From the best car show...in the world
Korea and India may be unique for being a racetrack that ran only in one specific F1 era.
In this case, the Korean and Indian GP ran exclusively in the high-nose V8 era dominated by Sebastian Vettell.
The indian GP seems like the perfect rotation track in asia, have it every second year along with a nz gp 🙏
I’d love to hear the “logic” behind why F1 a motorSPORT was considered entertainment and not you know a sport
The answer to that is actually very simple. Under Indian tax law all professional sports events fall under the category of 'entertainment,' which has been the case since the modern Indian nation was created in 1950. Various sporting bodies have tried various loopholes to get around this, so far all of them have failed. The tax breaks Bernie was hoping for were never, ever going to happen.
Because motorSPORT as you know it doesn't exist in India. Owning a car is still a dream for most. Being able to buy a motorcycle to be able to get to work easier is a luxury. India's never had uber-rich barons driving around in circles on abandoned airfields, so it never developed and never needed any legislation written around it. Not to mention the goal for most sport in most places is to get young people into it. No one's getting into racing by watching it live here. It is impossible to even dream. So why bother
It should be a sport. It just never will be
either off track shenanigans or they somehow predicted F1 and liberty media was changing it from motorsport to sports entertainment
Because all sports performed in front of an audience are a form of entertainment???? All the major sports leagues including motor racing in the US for example are incorporated as entertainment companies because entertainment companies get better subisidies, tax breaks, and higher levels of private investment, not only that but there's a lot of things you can do as a sports entertainment organization that you aren't legally allowed to do as a strictly sports organization.
At the end of the day sports are entertainment and if they're taxed differently in a country its up to the government of that country to decide which sport is a sport and which sports are entertainment. The Indians labeled motorsport as entertainment, as is their sovereign right.
Because all. Sports. Are. Entertainment.
I have never gotten to drive Buddh in any sim. Not even the F1 games because I didn't have time back then. I'd love to see it added to iRacing since the track isn't just still standing, but has been added to the MotoGP calandar recently. It was interesting to hear the MotoGP guys talk about how the visa issues were a problem for them also.
"Glock, meanwhile, in his virgin...."
I got a hearty chuckle out of this phrase for some reason.
I'm pretty sure I happened to miss every instance of this race going up. Wacko Timezones (in comparison to North America) + School = Playing the F1 2012 game 5 years after I wanted it and going "wait what there was a race here?"
That track was decent . Not as good as the track in Istanbul , Sepag or any or of the classics like Spa or Suzuks but still much better than current dross the drivers have to drive around in Miami.
I've been to Spa a number of times for the F1 race since 1989 and managed to get to Suzuka in 1995 as part of a three GP trip that included the Pacific GP the,weekend before and the last race in Adelaide two weekends later (I did go to 11 of the 17 races that year).
I'd like to have seen the Turkish track but never made it. I did go to Turkey three times in the 1990s mainly for trips to Gallipoli. People did ask me if there was a F1 race there at the time (I did go to a lot of F1 races).
I don't think my internals would survive India though!
@@simonkevnorrisit's much bette here compared to 2010's
Finally infrastructure, environment, foreign investment , and household income , and standard of living all are up, some parts are still not upto the standard bcz it's a massive country with a lot of people , but most cities ull have a great time in india
I would love a race in mumbai down the worli sea link( Google it) and a proper circuit is being built by the government in a completely new and investment friendlu city called gift cuty
The same tax situation that ended the Indian GP also happened somewhat in Vancouver with the Indycar/CART race that took place on the streets around BC Place. With that event, there were a couple of things that led to its demise. One was that like in India, the BC provincial government viewed CART as entertainment instead of a sporting event & as a result, refused to give it any kind of tax break. The other was that local residents hated the noise of the cars & having local streets blocked off even though the race generated a ton of revenue for the city of Vancouver & was popular with both fans & drivers. Throw in the turmoil CART was going through after 2003 when it went bankrupt & re-branded to Champ Car & it basically made the 2004 race the final one held in Vancouver. This was because Champ Car didn't want to race in an area where they would be taxed & they replaced Vancouver's date on the schedule with an oval race at the Milwaukee Mile for 2005. Indycar has not been back to Vancouver since & likely won't be anytime soon given how the series is currently stagnant when it comes to adding events or making other changes that would increase interest.
@AidanMillward One circuit you should cover is the Oscar & Juan Gálvez Autodrome which used to host the 🇦🇷GP, it hosted it in 3-4 different eras but had several year gaps between each era, like the Toy Story films.
I went there for the race in 1995 - I enjoyed my visit there.
Awesome video, Indian GP was great, would be cool to see it come back, then again i would also be cool to see Malysia and South Africa return plus ther are too man races these days so what do you do
Can there be any greater contrast to the term 'sport' than F1 and cricket?
Buddh much like Kuala Lumpar and Istanbul Park are the only Tilke tracks worthy of respect. Like you said, it's a shame neither will come back because of FOM's fixation with the USA and the Middle East.
COTA and Red Bull Ring say hi.
There’s nothing wrong with the FOM fixating on the US and the Middle East. These are countries that want F1 and the government is wiling to help bring it to their citizens.
Compare that with India where the government doesn’t even bother to help but taxes the shit out of it. And then European countries like Germany, UK, Belgium where the government doesn’t give a shit about F1 and expects the track owners to cover up everything despite the massive tourism the country benefits from it.
It’s like expecting private people to completely pay for the Olympics or the World Cup which 100% is a government sponsored event.
Frankly the Middle East and the US deserves F1 more than Europe and India.
@ “the UK government doesn’t give a shit”
The motorsport industry is worth billions in exports and the government has been investing bigly in it with grants over the last ten years.
When u did the korean circuit, remembering f1 2013, thinking nah I loved driving that track. Nope. This. This was the track I was thinking of.
Nah, the Korean track had no flow.
The Indian government were stretching it a bit calling an F1 race entertainment weren't they. I haven't found this to be the case in at least 2 decades.
the only thing I remember about that track was the smog.
One of the best of that era of new tracks. India and Turkey. Just wonderful to drive.
Also Surf Green hoody ftw
The most remarkable India moment was Rowan Atkinson react to a Lewis x Massa scruff that was ongoing in 2011. Other than that, it was dreadful to wake up at 6am on a sunday for the race
Personally my second favourite Tilke-Drome behind sepang
more sports car and touring car content please
"Is it entertainment or sport"
Meanwhile, Indonesia has a much clearer tax law: every spectator event is subject to taxes levied by regional (provincial or municipal), usually 10%.
First time I have heard redditch being mentioned in your videos, and I was born there 😆
@@gozza18.77 local ay it.
I don't think people quite understand how little folks in India knew about F1 when races were being held there. And I'm not just talking about the general population, I'm also talking about the people attending the races. I was in the main grandstand in 2013 and I can very confidently say that more than 50% of the seats in the main grandstand were sponsored seats. People who had come out for an afternoon activity without having a clue what they were watching were occupying those seats. And I'm not just making statements here. People couldn't differentiate a Red Bull from a Toro Rosso. People were clueless as to why would someone running at the front pit and lose positions. There was a very old lady sitting right behind me knitting, and getting annoyed by all the sound (I have a photo of her knitting!). On the last lap there was a Toro Rosso running about 20 seconds ahead of Vettel (on the track, not racing for positions) and people mistook the TR to be Seb and starting cheering for the driver when he crossed the line (he still had a lap to go). Seb crossed the line and a lot of people had no idea it was the race winner. Ofcourse people started cheering for Seb when he celebrated winning his 4th title, but it was such a shame that more deserving fans weren't in the stands to celebrate with him. The embarrassment I felt that evening still runs strong.
One of the better modern tracks.
“F1 is not a sport”- 22 stone Keith, 43 from Leicester
Ease up on the Leicester please 😂😅
As a Schumacher fan I always thought why they're not selling those "Mild Seven" in Germany.
Tilke took inspiration from Kyalami for the circuit
Might be in the minority but I liked the layout of the track. I’d like some of the corners to be widened a bit. But that’s a small nitpick
nice timing!
I was never a fan of the track myself purely from a viewing perspective and the empty seats were shocking (although I understood why they would want to stay away). Secondly, nothing wrong with a watching a game of cricket. Plus, in light of Spa 2021 and Las Vegas 2023 - if there's no show in cricket due to rain or other extenuating circumstances, they give you your money back - try telling that to the greedy pigs at FOM!
12:17 the same visa issue happened again for the 2023 MotoGP race, was only solved by government intervention. The same tax issues (I think) require MotoGP teams to draft all-new contracts for the Indian race
As a track, in my opinion, it was one of those weirdly average current venues. Whereas Shanghai had those strange, never-ending corners, Jeddah is just Monza with walls, and COTA is copypaste from various other sources, India stands as a sort of "featureless" one (apart from the banked turns). And this is not a bad thing! It was somewhat refreshing for a track not to feature this, that, and the other, or Tilke trying to create something even bigger than his previous tracks.
I was thinking maybe this is why there’s never been an Olympics in India, but they’re only just getting around to their first bid.
Stevenage born we got a shout out 😂
Including a certain 7-times F1 world champion, as it turns out hahahahahaha
Adian be like: "couple of weeks ago", the viewers: "more like couple of months ago". ( 2 to be exact)
Fuck! Was it really that long ago?!
2:16 also there were plans to hold in Kolkata
Now there are plans to hold one in Gujarat
Also BTS there was supposed to be a FIA GT1 Race and a WSBK round
Trainspotters having a couple of days off.
Sounds like a Jasper Carrot reference when he was waxing lyrical about bunjee jumping.
@@JohnSmithShields “one of the hunger jumpers was blind! It was amazing listening to a labrador scream at 200ft.
you know he was getting close to the water cos the lead went slack”
Core memory unlocked.
@AidanMillward Redditch also got a mention later on.
Carrot-U-Like for reference, a great waste of 45 minutes.
@ he slags off Redditch a lot. 😅
First! Love your content. Keep up the good work
Regarding your closing statements on whether the govt will see value in funding it:
it's tough, we all saw how they regarded it while it was on the calendar. Though, we have made leaps and bounds in progress at least at the state level in certain parts of the country to get racing back on the map
in the south we managed to get a full 3 tier car racing championship going including an official national FIA F4 championship which costs "only" 70K for the season, which has attracted drivers from all around the world to run F4IC as a winter series.
They even got endorsement from the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (the state that houses Madras and Coimbatore, the two main motorsport cities in India), Udhay Stalin (yes he's actually called that) to publicly come to the event and show that he supports it, and also has managed to get tweets of support from the Prime MInister Modi.
So the road ahead is no doubt long and arduous but for the first time since we lost the Indian GP it feels like there is a glimmer hope in the motorsport community that things will get better and we will be able to carry our weight in the international motorsports world :)
also as someone who lives in Gurgaon oh my lord that was so bad hahaha
hearing you say the name was a stark reminder of why i just tell people i'm from Delhi when i am in the UK
F1 in entertainment. The driving is hard, but also sitting in a Sauna being hit with branches ..
I wonder how it feels having 200+mph airflow tearing around a helmet... I was always very proficient with racing games, but I've thought deeply about driving something open-cockpit and I don't think I'd be able to get over having nothing between myself and the death. I'd end up babying it, machines built to race REALLY do not agree with being babied-along (from what I understand, it's actually much more difficult to drive them that way)... if they smell fear they will eat you. They want hot brakes, warm tires and cold sweat.
Put me in a GT car or LMP-x00 though and I'd give it everything in me!
Sounds like the episode of the Simpson where they tried making a Movie “there’s a $1000 leaving town tax”
0:27 to 0:35, you just described Silverstone.
Isn't MotoGP running into similar issues with the Indian MotoGP, or did they sort all that out?On paper it's a really nice track, and the F1 and bike races were decent to great, but I wonder if other categories could work there, like WEC or whatever is happening with touring cars and the FIA, and so on?
Not sure, I'm not into the bikes at all.
Similar issues, yep. Funding and all that. It's a shame, because the interest is truly here
I laughed a bit too much when you mentioned "Glock in his Virgin"
Here's context about GDP growth; the UK has averaged a GDP growth of 0.05% since 2022, so Hyderabad having 8% GDP growth in 2010 (the middle of the aftermath of the 2008 global recession) was very good.
@@tdyerwestfield I hadn’t heard of the place until the RUclips algorithm gods showed me that Scammer Payback guy.
@@AidanMillward I first heard of it in passing from cricket (my boss is Indian and a massive IPL fan) and also from Formula E racing there, but apart from that I know nothing of the place.
Jaguar and Land Rover Owned by Tata which makes things sense because jaguar racing in formula e and formula e raced in india
The only way they were saving that, was to have an India v Pakistan cricket match on the infield during the race.
I thought it was eventually cancelled because they kept putting shops on every corner?
Vettel won all three races of the Indian GP....he even won his title there.....
"The Indian government regarded F1 as entertainment, and not sports"
Till now, I didn't know
Liberty Media was Indian gov run?!
@AidanMillward Mastering Buddh was like getting the level of spice in a curry just right. Too little, u can’t taste a thing, too much, both your mouth & arse are on fire 🇮🇳 🍛
I don’t like cricket, I love it
Was that 10cc or Godley & Creme?
I think 10cc @@simonkevnorris
M-O-O-N, that spells moon!
The tax problems have been sorted out in the sense that if the race returns it will get the exception. However, the lack of proper race organisers is another issue now. It ruined the MotoGP event. After the 2023 race, the 2024 race was cancelled and now the 2025 race won't happen. The fan base is 10 times bigger now in India. And if Formula 1 sees potential in the market, the only way a race is gonna happen is if F1 buys the circuit and foot the bill of hosting the Grand Prix like they did in Las Vegas. Maybe invest in flood lighting the track like in Bahrain and hosting a night race to ensure the European audience can tune in properly. There is only money for Cricket here. Nobody is gonna risk footing the bill and paying those incredible race hosting fees.
The pronunciation of Gurgaon was wild 😂😂😂
Gur-Gay-yon😂😂 wtf
Nice video though. Loved it.
Be fair, he's not Indian. Can you say Machynlleth?*
There are c. 200 countries on this planet and thousands of living languages. No one should be expected to be able to say everything, which is what many "fans" seem to demand.
* Go to Wikipedia.
Pronounce Hapsburgh and Godmanchester.
@y_fam_goeglyd
Dude is making a video about it (I assume monetized)
he has the responsibilty to do a proper research of his material
- out of respect for the subject he is presenting, and
- as a responsibility to his viewers to provide them a proper information.
If he can't do it the least he can do is to apologize and gives a heads up that his information might be poorly research/lazily presented
@AidanMillward no offense mate. Loved the video regardless
Good thing India sorted out their visa issues in time for the 2023 Moto GP race…
Next: Vietnam?
This video is gonna go viral …. Cause INDIA
One of the years when they started, the pits was infested with rats who ate most of the teams wirings 😂
Forget it. I have it on good authority that the bureaucracy has not been tamed and there are fees payable for the privilege of paying other fees which will be processed six months after your intended visit. Or so I've been told.
If At least 1 of the Indian billionaire decides to invest in f1, every hurdles would go away due to their money and influencing power.
The Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s net worth is over $100B. For example, Laurence Stroll has a net worth of $5B.
I liked the Indian Circuit and the Korean Circuit, leave me alone!
I;ll never understand why people even have Rfactor installed
The sad thing is that it will never return, because F1 is hell bent on hosting 97 races in America. And that is unfortunate, because if an Indian Grand Prix were to happen this weekend, it would be packed to the rafters. People here are absolutely mad for F1 at the moment, and have been for a good 5 years.
Having travelled to India several times between 1994 and 2001 I was unsurprised to learn of the difficulties faced by F1 in terms of obstructionist bureaucrats.
Like cricket, they learnt it from we Brits, and like cricket, they elevated it to the status of a religion.
Utterly maddening until you realise you can make it all go away by putting a few dollars in the right hands.
Such is the risk in a polytheistic country 😆
Trump and Musk could😎 fix that!
A shame cause the track was pretty sweet, much like Istanbul.
As a f1 fan since 1972 who lived 2 miles from lotus factory I think f1 has " jumped the shark" much responsibility for that goes to drive to survive, the over dramatized show antics were unsubstanable
Wasn’t Istanbul Park on the European side of the city,though? So technically it was a European race?
It was on the Asian side.
I wouldn't describe cricket as a very boring game. On the few rare sunny days we get in the UK a cricket match is a great opportunity to sit in the sunshine getting drunk. Who cares what's happing on the pitch? it's all about the drinking.
@@PenryMMJ I only played at school cos it meant an afternoon off.
Did I mention I'm not an economist, don't worry, neither is Rachel Theives.
Chasing the bucks goes on, there's now the talk again of ,er, rotating some European F1 races .
I missed alot of this eara of f1. The cars were so ugly and the v8 sound was not the same as v10
Hey! I’m not a trainspotters, I just like railways
I've got a disused railway at the end of my garden.
My local retail park (Broadheath, Altrincham, Cheshire) used to literally be a railway station.
@@AidanMillward you lucky begger
The only two new races that have become successful have been Malaysia and Singapore. All the others have been duds.
I thought the Korean GP first took place in 2010?
It did. I'm ill as fuck right now.
Hope you get better soon!
“Bring back the v10s” Mahatma Gandhi
First on the subject on the Indian GP,
I'm really sad to see it not on the calendar. Other countries ... with questionable human rights and evil rulers ... thats right the US has two GP's. But India a country with a billion people only got a race for a few years ? :(
Onto the question in the thumbnail Is f1 Entertainment or Sport,
Prior to 2021 it was a sport.
After 2021's ending being completely scripted ?
Entertainment,
Welcome to WWF1
the track was terrible. they were not taxed out, they just never want to pay a cent in tax. but f1 is supported by corporate welfare with millions in race fees from countries or cities.the worst part was the announcers kept there was a lot of dust in the air. when it was actually the terrible pollution in india.
...or politic
I never understood why India got a GP in the first place. It just felt like a cash grab and it wouldn't last on the calendar, just like Korea.
And I was right
Never liked this track. I'm glad it's gone.
canada is just as poor now as india is
Got one word to describe the Indian GPs...
Crap!