No driving sponsors for young talent
India has had driving talent in the past – although no Indian driver has had any definable ‘success’ in Formula One, unable to win a podium. Several Indian motorsports drivers and experts – including racing prodigy Armaan Ebrahim, works with young talent to hone their skills.
In an interview, Ebrahim told us he strongly believes there is talent fast enough to race against the best, or be the best in Formula One in the future – but a lack of sponsorship has meant that those unable to self-fund are forced to quit the sport.
What is that lack of sponsorship up to? There is interest, he tells us, but because the sport does not have an Indian connect like it used to, that is lost.
It is then therefore a catch-22. Various issues have added up to spectacularly deleterious effect with respect to the Indian Grand Prix; that has affected sponsors, who in turn do not put money into helping find India’s next Formula One talent. There could be another Sebastian Vettel in the ranks of the JKTyre karting competitions, but that talent fades into obscurity without the backing to shine.
Is the answer, then, forcing sponsorship as part of corporate-social responsibility initiatives? Perhaps if there is some sort of ‘forced’ sponsorship, that will bring much-needed attention to young karters looking to move into single-seater racing.
That, in turn, will help put India on the map with respect to the sport – which could then bring in sponsors, both national and international, facilitating the way for an actual Grand Prix to occur – and thrive.
Bernie Ecclestone famously said he could not deal with the immense corruption involved; and the history of how the sport was handled seems not to suggest otherwise. Could it change anytime soon? There have been younger forces interested in the sport, forces that could take over to help hone interest.
But there are more problems, too – significant ones that have to do with Indian interests.
Force India and the Vijay Mallya saga
Sahara Force India are a firm midfield team. They’re on Mercedes power and looked good in 2015, with Sergio Perez scoring a podium at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi. The squad finished at a decent 5th in the championship standings, with Perez the stronger of the two, finishing in the top 10 in the drivers' championship standings.
This year has been less than ideal for Force India for a number of reasons – the first of which has to do with their drivers. Only one driver from the team each finished inside the points in the last two races, with neither in the points this time around.
But the squad, India’s biggest connection to the sport for now, has bigger issues. Following issues with former co-owner Subroto ‘Sahara’ Roy, it is now Vijay Mallya’s turn to be under fire. The Indian liquor baron was named in the Panama Papers, the data reveal that showed a number of influential political and business figures were evading tax. Nico Rosberg and former driver Jarno Trulli were also named, but have escaped scrutiny for now.
Mallya, meanwhile, has been in trouble in India and abroad. After he departed for London, it has now emerged Mallya’s passport will be seized; he also stands to owe hundreds of millions in fines, and given the position of the Formula One team down the pecking order of matters, it could be one of the areas that suffers a cut.
There was also talk last year, and early this year, that Force India would be bought by luxury carmakers Aston Martin and rebranded; that would effectively sever any actual ‘connection’ with ‘India’ as a brand, and making a return difficult.
It was supposed to return in 2015, and then 2016, but tax issues do not permit this.
We would all, as fans, like to see the race return to our home country, but as circumstances stand, it looks like a difficult ask.
