There have been many excuses put forth by the Formula 1 governing body and the Jaypee Group as to why India has been removed from the F1 calendar in the 2014 season, but Sir Jackie Stewart – triple world champion – sums it up best.
While the Indian organizers insisted that it is just a scheduling matter, they have failed to expose what Sir Jackie and most of us already know. The main issue is the Indian government and the tax and customs issues at hand.
“Formula 1 has been able to handle the issue in every other country we go to – whether it’s Hungary, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia or China,” the 74 year old said. “It is certainly not a good message the Indian Grand Prix is sending out to the motor sports world, and it is not positive for India’s image when questions are raised about it.”
Stewart even pointed out to us that for the inaugural Formula 1 race in India almost 95,000 people showed up, but in 2012 that number dropped to just 60,000. For the calendar to not have India next year, this will surely hurt the sport in the country, and it all depends on how well they will pull it off this year.