Indian intrigues
The chase for championship laurels may be over but this does not mean that the politicking has stopped. And this has meant that until very recently indeed the race on the brand new Indian-built Buddh International Circuit was in danger of not taking place.
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- Plenty of problems along the way… but the Buddh International Circuit was completed just in time and the threatened boycott failed to materialize.
The controversies began when agricultural land was expropriated from impoverished Indian farmers with the only compensation being very small sums of money and very big… if empty… promises. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that there is a cohort of angry tillers of the soil who feel cheated both by the Indian government and by the privately held event promoter JPSI. If that were not enough of a problem there have been diligent bureaucrats demanding that the Formula One teams should be taxed on the revenues they earn in India. This they see as a justified ‘thank you’ for the hospitality offered by the land of elephants, curry and poppadoms. The persuasive and obstructive tool employed by the civil servants has been to slow the visa process to a labyrinthine crawl. Fortunately a last minute solution has been found… there will be ‘exceptions’ made, although the nature of these remains cloaked in secrecy. This is doubtless wise, given that the Indian television media have already threatened to man the barricades since they had nurtured the naïve hope that they would be permitted to send their own camera teams to the Buddh circuit, ignoring the fact that old Bernie would never allow his complex and lucrative international television contracts to be undermined. There was also a final hurdle to be overcome… concern that the Buddh complex would not be finished in time for this weekend’s racing, but JPSI made an extra effort and possibly called on divine assistance to make sure that this obstacle was also removed.
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- An unusual picture with Narain Karthikeyan, as the only Indian driver, taking centre stage at this press conference… where Michael Schumacher looks not very happy at all.
Round and round and round
When it comes to the motorsport aspect of the Formula One season there is little news to be reported. After the recent achievement of Sebastian Vettel in the statements of the top teams seem repetitive… going round and round and round with the same mantras as before. Red Bull Racing wants to add some more victories to their record and are highly motivated. At Ferrari and McLaren there is confidence that while there are still possibilities of wins as the season begins to wind down they are concentrating on their preparations for next year. The Buddh circuit should be found by the three top teams to their liking… there are plenty of high-speed stretches and fast curves and the two long straights, yes, these will well suit Vettel and his bold team-mate from Down Under, Mark Webber. But the hot-headed Hamilton and the excellent Jenson Button will be hot on the heels of the Red Bull racers. At Ferrari it will once again all depend on the tyres… when the soft Pirellis are on the Italian wheels then it is certain that Alonso… and maybe even the generally underestimated Massa … will be laying down quick laps. The fourth team in serious contention, Mercedes GP, can hope for little more than to keep as close to the big three as possible in this third from last race of the 2011 season… unless, of course, the veteran Schumacher and the maturing Rosberg come to the starting grid in brand new cars. But from Norbert Haug one is suddenly hearing nothing… which in its own way says a lot.
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- The German driver Adrian Sutil will be expected to perform at his best on behalf of the Force India Team.
A duty to win
Further down the rankings it begins to get slightly more exciting… a bit more, anyway. Renault has the fifth place in the constructors’ championship and is unlikely to relinquish it. But for sixth-placed Force India the race on home ground is an event of greatest importance. Indeed the patient German driver Adrian Sutil and the canny Scot, Paul di Resta, have almost the status of ‘local heroes’ this weekend. Under the tutelage of Dr. Vijay Mallya, who has financed the Force India project, the two drivers are duty bound to entrance the entire population of the subcontinent with their performance at the Buddh International Circuit… whether they can in fact rise to the occasion and fulfill these expectations remains to be seen. The only true home-boy on the grid is the introverted Karthikeyan who is unlike to have them cheering in the stands as he does his laps at the wheel of his HRT racer. Sauber and Toro Rosso are the teams which are the biggest threat to Force India and so Sutil and di Resta are going to have their work cut out for them and are oibliged deliver points. If they fail to do so then maybe Mallya will for next season take the step he has always dreamed of and set an Indian driver in one of his cars. He could, for example, recruit Karun Chandhok, whose father Vicky just happens to be the president of the Indian Motorsport Association. And Daddy is sure to be far from happy that his boy has not managed to rise beyond Lotus test driver for the home game this weekend. One can imagine mutterings of discontent…
Bollywood bash
There are many unknown factors which can influence the outcome of the Indian Grand Prix. It will definitely be exciting to see how the drivers deal with a circuit they hardly know at all. Its layout is reminiscent of the Istanbul Speed Park but until now the only familiarization with the circuit has been in virtual simulators. Those on whom Fortuna fails to smile in the course of the racing will have to take heart from other highlights unique to Buddh… there will be Beef Vindaloo served at the side of the roads leading to the circuit… there are tours of the renowned Bollywood film studios to be enjoyed… there is the Taj Mahal and the first concert in India by the cult band Metallica. And that should transform the Formula One circus into a seething mosh pit. Namaste!
