Ecclestone optimistic on 2011 Indian Grand Prix in Delhi
Despite recent uproar over several disasters threatening the XIX Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone has expressed his faith in the city’s ability to prepare the Jaypee
Group Circuit in time for the 2011 Indian Grand Prix.
The 79-year-old boss stated that, “I have no worries at all,” even though the infrastructure of Delhi’s sports venues is earning a horrific reputation. This week 27 people were injured (four critically)
when a footbridge connecting to Jawaharlal Nehru stadium collapsed, as well as the ceiling of a weightlifting venue. Yet Ecclestone insists that the problems plaguing the Games have very little to do with the F1 circuit. “It's a different organisation altogether,”
Ecclestone told reporters. “The people who, as you say, are making a shambles, are not the people who are dealing with us for the race.”
Yet BBC F1 presenter Jack Humphrey, who joined F1 driver Karun Chandhok in taking a look at the track’s progress this week, revealed that the project – which is run by Chandhok’s father Vicky Chandhok
– has a long way to go. “I must confess I was surprised by how much there is still to do,” he admitted. “At the moment, Turn One leads into a lake as the track drops away. I'm sure that will be gone by the time 2011 arrives though! We were in a heavy-duty
vehicle with an F1 driver at the wheel but still got stuck in the mud as there has been so much rain in Delhi recently. The pit buildings are starting to appear out of the ground; the first two garages are already built but far from finished. As things stand
the track is wet, sloppy gravel in the general shape of an F1 circuit.”
Nevertheless, track organizers are convinced that India will launch its first Grand Prix on the scheduled time of October 30 next year.
“The developers certainly seem confident that it will be ready on time and they have the luxury of seeing where Bahrain, Korea and Abu Dhabi were at the same stage in their development,” Humphrey revealed,
also suggesting that the recent scandal surrounding the Games may serve as a good cautionary tale. “Perhaps the problems for the Commonwealth Games will make the circuit organisers even more determined to be ready well in advance, but it won't be easy.”
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