India staged it's first ever formula 1 race with customary fanfare. As is the norm world over, there were plenty of celebrities on hand to witness the circus. Apart from the odd electricity blackout and an occasional dog on the circuit, the entire race weekend passed off without too many embarrassing mishaps. Judging by the live footage, there seemed to be a large audience,presumably most of them from the upper middle classes.
A reported $400 million that was spent on the circuit came in for some criticism. Allegations of wrongdoing in granting tax breaks for the race provided more ammunition to the critics. There was also the inevitable focus on extreme wealth inequality in the country. Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel, two of the more perceptive drivers in the field also to noticed it.
Most global car makers are planning new factories in India to corner a share of the fast growing market.Gujarat's fast rise as a new auto hub is a case in point.There are several areas of technology in F1 that are relevant to road cars.After a late start, F1 has fully embraced Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), the energy capture technique used in today's hybrid cars. F1 teams allocate vast resources for research on vehicle aerodynamics, transmission systems, driver safety aids and many other areas.Under the new FIA president Jean Todt , fuel efficient engines are also getting increased impetus.
If appropriate industrial policy is put in place, the huge interest shown in F1 can be harnessed to get young engineers to develop competencies in these areas. All those car makers who are trying to design India-specific models would be happy to dip into a pool of homegrown talent.
In the greater scheme of things $400 million is not a lot of money, especially when the entire investment was made by a private enterprise. As for any irregularities in the acquisition of land and special treatment by the government, there is a state election scheduled for 2012 in Uttar Pradesh. Going by recent trends of voters punishing corrupt incumbents, there is a decreasing likelihood of such deeds going unnoticed.
A reported $400 million that was spent on the circuit came in for some criticism. Allegations of wrongdoing in granting tax breaks for the race provided more ammunition to the critics. There was also the inevitable focus on extreme wealth inequality in the country. Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel, two of the more perceptive drivers in the field also to noticed it.
Britain's Jenson Button said coming to India was "difficult" for the drivers, who have been stunned at the living conditions glimpsed outside their luxury hotels. "You can't forget the poverty in India. It's difficult coming here for the first time, you realise there's a big divide between the wealthy people and the poor people," he said. ....
German champion Sebastian Vettel caught his first glimpse of Indian life on the 200-kilometre (125-mile) drive from New Delhi to the Taj Mahal, and he said it was a humbling experience. "It definitely brings your feet back on the ground in many ways and makes you understand a lot of things," Vettel said. "It's an inspiration and makes you appreciate things you take for granted."If you look past claims that staging a big event like this would elevate India's image, there are some benefits that could be extracted out of hosting an F1 race. Formula 1 is a combination of business,sport,hospitality and high tech engineering. The high tech engineering part should be of particular interest to India. Tata consultancy Services(TCS), India's leading software company already provides IT services to Ferrari.
Most global car makers are planning new factories in India to corner a share of the fast growing market.Gujarat's fast rise as a new auto hub is a case in point.There are several areas of technology in F1 that are relevant to road cars.After a late start, F1 has fully embraced Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), the energy capture technique used in today's hybrid cars. F1 teams allocate vast resources for research on vehicle aerodynamics, transmission systems, driver safety aids and many other areas.Under the new FIA president Jean Todt , fuel efficient engines are also getting increased impetus.
If appropriate industrial policy is put in place, the huge interest shown in F1 can be harnessed to get young engineers to develop competencies in these areas. All those car makers who are trying to design India-specific models would be happy to dip into a pool of homegrown talent.
In the greater scheme of things $400 million is not a lot of money, especially when the entire investment was made by a private enterprise. As for any irregularities in the acquisition of land and special treatment by the government, there is a state election scheduled for 2012 in Uttar Pradesh. Going by recent trends of voters punishing corrupt incumbents, there is a decreasing likelihood of such deeds going unnoticed.
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