The Indian Grand Prix (Hindi: à¤ारतीय ग्रां प्री; sometimes referred to as the Grand Prix of India) is a race in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship. It is currently held at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh,India. The first event took place on 30 October 2011 as the 17th race of the 2011 Formula One season,The new race track was officially homologated on 1 September 2011by Charlie Whiting, and the inaugural race was won by Germany's Sebastian Vettel.
Races
Season-2011: 28-30 October 2011: On 30 October 2011, the first F1 Grand Prix was held at the circuit. Sebastian Vettel won the event, his 11th of the season. He also had the fastest lap of the race on his last lap although his team was telling him to "just bring it home". Sachin Tendulkar waved the chequered flag to welcome Sebastian Vettel. Redbull won the Constructors Trophy. The only Indian F1driver Narain Karthikeyan of HRT F1 finished 17th position. The only Indian F1 Team Sahara Force India driver Adrian Sutil finished at 9th position.
Winners
| Year | Driver | Constructor | Location | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 |  Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | Greater Noida | Report |
Sponsors
- Airtel Grand Prix of India 2011 – 2016 for Rs 34 crore
The circuit
The race was held at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, 24 km from Delhi.The circuit, designed by F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke, is 5.141 kilometres (3.194 mi). The track has spread across an area of 875 acres. The initial seating capacity is speculated to be around 150,000. However there are plans to increase the seating capacity to 200,000 later on. The sprawling circuit is a part of Jaypee Green Sports city and will also be used for hosting one or more rounds of Moto GP championships in the year 2012. The 10-year contract for the race has been given to the Indian construction company Jaiprakash Associates.
The track in all has 16 largely medium speed corners where F1 cars will lap at an average speed of 210 km/h. The back straight will let F1 cars reach 320 km/h making it one of the fastest tracks in the world. The expected F1 car lap time is 1 minute 27 seconds. The organizers have also taken feedback from teams which have done the track analysis via simulators leading to modification of the turn 7 in order to maximize overtaking opportunities into banked turn 10. A grand stand with a capacity of 13,000 will overlook the turn 10 and turn 11 giving the F1 fans an opportunity to be a part of the action.
Says Samir Gaur, MD and CEO of JPSI Sports, a subsidiary of Jaiprakash Associates, "Land acquisition for the 5.5 km track is on and we are hopeful of completing the exercise by February. The designer and contractor for the job too, have been finalised and we are sure of getting the track ready by February 2011, in time for the championship." According to Ashok Khurana, executive vice-chairman of JPSI, the core area of the circuit would be spread over 4,000 hectares and building the infrastructure of the circuit would cost between Rs 12 billion and Rs 15 billion (US$309 million/£188 million/€216 million, at exchange rates of 21 August 2009).
The latest development (January 2010) with the circuit in India was the appointment of Mark Hughes, former number 2 at the Bahrain International Circuit for 5 years and also advisor to the Yas Marina Circuit for their first Grand Prix at the end of 2009. But on 24 January 2011, Hughes confirmed that he quit the Indian job due to 'personal reasons'. His post later went to Mr. Azhar Rehman, a former race organiser in Sepang, Malaysia. It is the second fastest circuit in the world with top speed of about 324 km/h.
Economic benefits
The Indian Grand Prix has the potential to generate around $170 million in revenue and employ as many as 10,000 people. The opportunity in advertising tie-ups between manufacturers and F1 are also a consideration. The race also coincides with the important Diwali holiday, when consumer spending is typically at its highest and many people are travelling which further improves economic prospects.
