[Saba Sports News] Latest reports from Indian media reveal that India’s Ministry of Sports is making all-out efforts to bring Formula 1 back to the country. India did host F1 races in the past, which were suspended for many years due to tax disputes, financial troubles of the operators as well as administrative hurdles at the management level. The core motivation behind the restart this time is to leverage F1’s global influence to boost India’s visibility in the international sports arena. It also aims to drive consumption in related domestic industries such as tourism and hospitality, attract investment, and even lay a solid foundation for bidding to host more major international sports events in the future.
Meanwhile, there have been positive developments: the senior government officials have adopted a highly proactive stance, the previous hidden troubles with the operators have been resolved, and the country has gained valuable experience from hosting other international events. Additionally, the directions for tax and approval reforms are clear and well-defined.
In our view, F1’s return to India is well within reach, provided that the tax and operational agreements are finalised properly in the early stage, professional organisations are appointed to take charge of the event operations, more investors are brought in to share the costs, and the preparation work is carried out in phases without rushing for quick results.