The Hindu Business Line : Lap up the action

It's the final lap in the run up to the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. Formula One fans in India renew their hopes for a Grand Prix spectacle on home ground.

The Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos near Sao Paulo is scheduled for October 24. It is the 18th and last Formula One race in the 2004 season. Interlagos is one of two tracks where cars are driven in the anti-clockwise direction; the other is at Imola in San Marino, Italy. This kind of a track can prove difficult for drivers, but it also offers great opportunities for overtaking.

The races hold interest for Indians for more than one reason. Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandok have established their credentials as potential participants in such races, after some creditable performances in Formula Three competition. It is a matter of time and financial support before they graduate to F1. Secondly, the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had initiated steps to bring F1 races to Hyderabad.

Formula One racing can generate substantial economic spin-offs for both domestic and international tourism. Besides earning valuable foreign exchange, the race track would also spur the development of the city's airport to international standards.

But the races present mind-boggling logistic problems. Seven jumbo jets are required to transport four cars, one spare chassis, several spare engines, and other spare parts and tools, besides the staff for each of the 10 participating teams. Each team would require nearly 100 hotel rooms for accommodation. Numerous other facilities need to be set up, such as digital data links between the car driver and the team's base.

Reports suggest that liquor baron Vijay Mallya nearly succeeded in bringing F1 races to India last year. However, he hit a roadblock at the last minute owing to the ban on tobacco advertisements. Sponsorships and advertisements are a major source of revenue for the participating teams. With practically all other avenues closed to tobacco advertising, tobacco companies increasingly depend on car races for publicity.

Globally, nearly half of all advertising revenues originate in the tobacco sector. However, a worldwide ban on tobacco advertising is expected in 2006. The European Union's ban will come into effect in July 2005, while it is already in place in countries like France and the UK.

F1 races are reported to have the third-largest television audience after World Cup football and the Olympics. Hence one might expect non-tobacco multinationals to fill the gap left by the tobacco advertisers. Vicky Chandok, President of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSC), has said in an interview that Bernie Ecclestone, President of the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA), was willing to give Doordarshan free rights to telecast the races all over the country. Ecclestone had also responded favourably to the inclusion of an Indian driver in the race, if held in the country, and had indicated his preference for Bangalore as the venue.

F1 requires an investment of about $130 million for the laying of tracks. The country can earn substantially through television rights. During the off-season, the track can be used for other commercial purposes, as is done elsewhere in the world.

The Schumi effect

So, who is likely to win the Brazilian race? Many fans are betting on Michael Schumacher aka Schumi of the Ferrari team. He is in peak form. He has stood on the podium in 15 out of 17 races in the current season — 13 times as No. 1. He retired from the Monaco race after an accident.

After the German Grand Prix on July 25, Schumacher was declared the Drivers World Champion for the seventh time on the basis of the unassailable lead he had established over others — 128 points against his team-mate Rubens Barrichello's 88 and Jenson Button's 65. The Constructors' title was awarded to his sponsor Ferrari, which had scored 216 points against Renault's 91 and BAR-Honda's 83. At the latest race at Suzuka in Japan, Schumacher earned his 63rd career pole position, two short of the record 65 set by the legendary Ayrton Senna (Brazil). He also had his 83rd career victory there. At Monza, Italy, Schumacher started third on the grid and ended up No. 2, once again proving that the absence of a pole position need not be a disadvantage in the final race.

His car spun in the very first lap at the second chicane. Television viewers saw him stuck on the track and watching in frustration as car after car zoomed ahead in a race where even one-thousandth of a second could count in deciding the winner. He was No. 15 at one stage. Still, he made up the deficit to emerge No.2. Barrichello beat him by just 1.347 seconds.

According to experts, Schumacher's success owes to the technical excellence of Ferrari. One commentator referred to the superiority of Bridgestone tyres, which were designed exclusively for Ferrari.

The `moments'

Whenever a driver has a scary incident on the track, he calls it a `moment'. One such moment in TV-viewing was when Jarno Trulli's car crashed while cruising at 170 miles per hour, spun several times and broke into smithereens at the Grand Prix in Silverstone. But lo and behold... Trulli was none the worse for it. He simply walked away! At the recent Italian Grand Prix, TV viewers saw Gianmaria Bruni literally on fire at the pit, when fuel escaped from the nozzle head. He and the pit crew did not, however, suffer any injury. Bruni, of course, retired from the race. These instances are as much a tribute to the grit of the drivers as to the safety features incorporated in their clothes and vehicles.

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