(F1) GO MUMBAI (NOT HYDERABAD)
If I was salivating at the idea of watching an F1 race in India 3 years later, thanks to all the hype about Hyderabad getting a nod from FIA's Bernie Ecclestone, you can imagine my exhilaration on reading this - Formula One may go to Mumbai
I remember talking to some friends about this a few months back, and saying that if the Maharashtra government takes up this F1 issue seriously, there is no chance in hell that Hyderabad is going to be the venue. To conduct an F1 race, you need (at least) the following -
* An international airport
* A motorway/expressway from the airport to the racetrack to transport the heavy duty equipment
* 5,000 hotel rooms, all five star.
Plus you need millions of dollars worth investment.
Mumbai already has an international airport. There also exists a world class motorway between Mumbai and Pune. And the highest number of 5-star hotel rooms in India has to be either Mumbai or Delhi. As it is, the Congress as well as Shivsena governments are agreed on the plan to develop the Mumabi-Pune-Nashik triangle as a major industrial hub, with talks of emulating Guangzhou. An F1 GP would fit in perfectly, as it would speed up this process, in terms of infrastructure development.
It would be interesting to see who wins this "race-for-a-race" between Mumbai and Hyderabad.
My vote would obviously go to Mumbai. An F1 track located between Navi Mumbai and Lonavla would be amazing. For all you know, in 2007, Sachin Tendulkar could be waving the chequered flag for Michael Schumacher in good ole Maharashtra.
Ah well, let's see. :)
If I was salivating at the idea of watching an F1 race in India 3 years later, thanks to all the hype about Hyderabad getting a nod from FIA's Bernie Ecclestone, you can imagine my exhilaration on reading this - Formula One may go to Mumbai
I remember talking to some friends about this a few months back, and saying that if the Maharashtra government takes up this F1 issue seriously, there is no chance in hell that Hyderabad is going to be the venue. To conduct an F1 race, you need (at least) the following -
* An international airport
* A motorway/expressway from the airport to the racetrack to transport the heavy duty equipment
* 5,000 hotel rooms, all five star.
Plus you need millions of dollars worth investment.
Mumbai already has an international airport. There also exists a world class motorway between Mumbai and Pune. And the highest number of 5-star hotel rooms in India has to be either Mumbai or Delhi. As it is, the Congress as well as Shivsena governments are agreed on the plan to develop the Mumabi-Pune-Nashik triangle as a major industrial hub, with talks of emulating Guangzhou. An F1 GP would fit in perfectly, as it would speed up this process, in terms of infrastructure development.
It would be interesting to see who wins this "race-for-a-race" between Mumbai and Hyderabad.
My vote would obviously go to Mumbai. An F1 track located between Navi Mumbai and Lonavla would be amazing. For all you know, in 2007, Sachin Tendulkar could be waving the chequered flag for Michael Schumacher in good ole Maharashtra.
Ah well, let's see. :)
