Formula One guru Bernie Ecclestone wants to put India on the circuit

Bernie Ecclestone, the guru of Formula One, is getting into gear to put India on the F1 circuit, reports.

After almost a 20-year wait, Ecclestone is confident of closing a deal to introduce India as the latest Formula One destination in the world. Reports suggest that Ecclestone is in talks with both the Delhi and Haryana governments for a suitable venue.

Feasibility studies have been conducted in Delhi, which suggest getting the race in 2009 may be impossible. Ecclestone said that Vijay Mallya and he had been talking about a race in India for the past 20 years and it is now just matter of making it happen.

CNBC-TV18 exclusive to domain-b Bernie Ecclestone:

When are you going to make it happen?
I hope within the next two years, we would be having a race in India.

A lot of sceptics say the infrastructure in India will not really be conducive to put on a F1 track. What are your views on the infrastructure?
India is the same as everywhere else in the world. We race all over the world, so why not in India.

How far have you gone into negotiations, as far as bringing F1 into India is concerned?
We have spoken to different people. There is a big confusion about what happens in India. We call the promoter, the person who actually organises, runs the race and makes it work commercially.

Then you get another set of people, which are the national sporting authority in that country. That looks after the sporting side. So, we have been talking to the Olympic Committee.

Mr Mallya is the guy to whom we have said to try and get it done for us. We relied on him and hope he does so. We are looking forward and hoping that the Olympic Committee will help us as well.

In terms of what F1 can do for India, give us an example of what has happened as far as Istanbul is concerned. How will a Grand Prix really benefit India and Indians?
It opens a lot of doors and about 300 million people see this race live. So, for people who would have never seen Tokyo or Istanbul, it suddenly opens their eyes. This has happened in a lot of countries.

This is why people run the Olympics, which costs an absolute fortune. If we do something there, it would be for a minimum of seven years. So, there would be all the tourists coming in. Most importantly, it is showing the world that India is alive and well.

What kind of investment will a country need to put an F1 track?
I do not know the cost of building in India, but it should be around $150 million to build a circuit and probably $60 million a year. But it is cheap as compared to what you get back.

As far as an F1 race is concerned, there has been a lot of talk about a Monaco-styled street race in Delhi. Feasibility studies were conducted for that. What are your thoughts on that?
I would like to see a street race. We are going into a new country that is not really accustomed to F1 and it is good to have a street race.

We are having a street race in Valencia, and the architect who does things for us and checks things out, said it is possible. It would certainly be cheaper.