Indian Grand Prix To Skip A Year, Returns In 2015

Updated: Wednesday, July 31, 2013, 12:22 [IST]

Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed India will not host the 2014 edition of Indian Grand Prix. But the glamorous race will be back in 2015, though with a change. Instead of the usual October time slot the race will be scheduled for March.

"When we signed the five-year deal with Jaypee, we were keen on going to India in the first half and Jaypee wanted it to be in October. We gave in at that time, but now it looks we will have the race early 2015. It was too close. Therefore, after speaking to promoters, we think it is best not to have a race in 2014 and have one in 2015," Ecclestone told IANS.

The reason for the shift
Those who follow the motorsport will know that the the Formula 1 season starts with the Australian Grand Prix and is followed by a couple of other countries from the eastern hemisphere, namely Malaysia and China. Post this the race moves over to Europe, before returning back to Asia for races in Singapore, Korea, Japan and India.

The Formula 1 Group had planned to club Indian Grand Prix with the Chinese Grand Prix to make it easy for the teams in terms of logistics. However, this meant BIA hosting another race within 6 months, in 2014, something which the organisers said was impossible.

The 2014 Formula 1 season
Next year's season is likely to feature 20 races, one more than this year. This leaves two slots open for Bernie Ecclestone to fill in and he has three options. The first being the resort city of Sochi on the coast of Black Sea in Russia, Austria, which has not hosted a race for 11 years and New Jersey, USA.

The most likely candidates are Sochi and Austria. But whether Ecclestone throw his weight around and force teams to accept Grand Prix of North America as the 21st race remains to be seen.

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