Formula 1- Is it entertainment or a sport?

2009-09-01

"F1 is not purely sports. It is entertainment and this venture by JKSP is a commercial initiative," said a ministry source. F1 will not have an impact on Indian sports "in terms of either participation, broad-basing or promotion of excellence".

"The proposed F1 race does not satisfy conditions which focus on human endeavour for excelling in competition with others, keeping in view the whole sports movement from Olympics downwards,"

The above statement was given by the ministry of sports when JPSK sports proposed to build a formula one racing track in India. This statement had a huge impact on the world of motorsports.

I wont say formula 1 is not an entertainment. But how the ministry can say its not a sport. Do they really mean what they say? On what basis they classify between a sport and an entertainment?

Every sport has entertainment as its ingredient. Cricket, Soccer,basketball,baseball,Badminton,tennis and the list goes on. And formula 1 is no different. Lets see the reasons why Indian ministry rejected the venture.

  • Formula 1 is not a sport,its an entertainment
  • Formula 1 is a very costly sport
  • Formula 1 is not in Olympics
  • Much crowd wont turn up to watch the sport

The above four are the premier reasons given by ministry.

The first point.It seems our ministry wont encourage entertainment in  our country.

Lets take cricket. Test cricket,One day International and 20-20. How much crowd will turn up to watch a test cricket when compared to T20? Test cricket is really good form of sport.It tests the skill,ability and energy of a player. And one day cricket is also acceptable because its played for a whole day and to an extent the player can prove his skill and ability.

Lets come to t20. A shorter form of cricket,purely commercial.In this form of cricket you just have to sustain for four hours to get lots of money. It is more entertaining and cool to watch the ball flying over stands.

When they say T20 is a sport. Why not Formula 1? This shorter form of cricket is no match to the high level of engineering,competency,skill,will power of formula one racing.

If you are watching formula one races,you might have seen a Advertisement.I have mentioned this previously before in one of my posts.

 

Imagine yourself being subjected to a G-force of 5G’s. (Don't know what's a G-force? for example: When we sneeze or cough we experience a G-force of about 2G’s.Then Imagine how 5G’s would be… G-force is nothing but the measure of gravitational force)

Imagine yourself being in a 50 degree C pressure cooker.

Imagine your Heart beating 210 times a minute.

 

This is what a Formula one driver goes through.Every formula one driver loses around 1 to 2 kgs when they drive a one and half an hour race. Now would you still call t20 as a sport and formula one as a mere entertainer?

 

Lets analyze the next case… Formula one is a costly sport….  I do accept it is a costly sport and loads of money are involved in it.

But I really wont accept if ministry says they don't have money to spend. When BCCI can spend a lot for giving incentives and apartments as gift to Indian players, why not the Indian ministry spend on formula 1.

 

Third case is the most stupid one. Formula one is not in Olympics. According to our ministry other than sports played in India and the sports in Olympics, every other sport is an entertainment and not purely a Sport.

Just think how many sports are being played in Olympics and in how many India participates and in how many they are winning medals? And over the period of time there is no improvement regarding the participation of Indians in Olympics. But atleast they have started winning some medals. So this is the most stupidest of the arguments.

 

The fourth case…Much crowd wont turn up to watch the sport. I think the ministry must be kidding. Google very recently conducted a small survey about which communities have more number of Indians and the communities which involves active participation of our country. And to my surprise Soccer and Formula 1 were among the top ten communities in which there are lots of Indians and they are actively taking part in it. I am proud to say I am one among them.

There are fans for formula one who are ready and willing to go to every country where the race takes place. So huge crowd from other countries might turn up to India for watching the sport. And die hard fans(like me) would turn up to see the Scarlet car shining under the sun light.  So this argument is not acceptable too.

 

And according to me there is a difference between World wrestling entertainment and Formula 1. The former called the entertainer as everything is predetermined and fake in that.The latter involves will power and courage. So formula is absolutely a sport which is much entertaining to those who have the knowledge about the sport and for those who like watching races.

And Indian ministry has the rights to deny the development of Formula 1 in India. But I guess they don't have rights to classify whether It is a sport or an entertainer and that too without a pure knowledge in the sport.

This sport is a great Hit at Singapore and Malaysia. When they can spend for a circuit.. Why not India? The night race at Singapore was  great and dramatic one. We have already seen a Indian Formula 1 driver and an Indian Formula one Team. And the racing track in India is absolutely a dream come true.

 

 

These are my views upon the issue and ofcourse my views in this topic is biased since I am an ardent fan of formula one racing. I prefer India can spend In formula one racing than spending for the so called Idle mans game.

 

And Kudos to Vijay Mallya. It was really great to see the tri colour car racing for the pole position and fighting with a Ferrari till the end. Great work from VJ and team. Force India’s Budget is only one third of Ferrari’s Budget. But still it fought with Ferrari in Last race and Ferrari would not have managed without the KERS technology. Force India managed to get second position and they got the first ever points in Formula one after hard fought battle for over 30 races.

 

I would like to thank Ashwini for her two cute awards and venky for his timeless friendship award…

timeless friendship award honest-scrap one_lovely_blog2

Image courtesy: Google Images

43 comments:

  • Dhiman

    I agree to every word of this post !!! I too am a fan of F-1 since a few years and we know how our ministers are.... let Vijay Mallya bring in this sport to India in 2011 which I think he will and let the government see the 'big' money in it they'll certainly make a beeline to be part of the thing ....its a gimmick I say... we shouldn't worry and its good in a way as Govt. of India is anyway not capable of handling things so big...let them concentrate on swimming, Athletics, boxing, wrestling etc and bring us medals in Olympics....
    Motorsport till date is a private affair in India I think I should be like that then we'll see some good work...
    BTW Cricket is also not part of Olympics or so?

  • Bharathi

    congratulations on your awards pal. You are becoming more popular it seems. regarding your post, though I dont understand F1, I can clearly see your passion for the post. Hope you would see that in India soon.

  • Unknown

    @bharathi: thanks bharathi.. I am watching this sport from my 8th std.. at that time..I will just watch it as a race.. I dont know the names of drivers,rules etc..etc....the technology stuffs behind it.. But as I grew...I started liking everything behind this sport...

  • Unknown

    @dhiman: cricket is not a part of Olympics... Dhiman there are some private F1 tracks in the world and those are facing losses sometimes.... In terms of ticket sales and sponsors... There are some tracks which are sponsored by government and having a huge profit..Thats why everyone insists the aid of government.. I exactly dont know the theory behind this... But government aided tracks are facing huge profits...

    So ministry approval is important... But I think VJ will do it...

  • Amit Kumar Singh

    Congtratulations for your Award... :)

    Although, I have no much interest in Sports, Nevertheless I liked ur post and got some very good information about F1... :)

    Cheers!!

  • BK Chowla,

    Don't take our minister and their statements seriously.They only read out a written text without having any knowledge of the subject,

  • Madman

    Shankar i agree that formula one is a sport but Indian sports ministry doesn't support cricket its the BCCI. BCCI is a separate organisation which different from the ministry that is part of the govt.

    As you said it is costly, building track for it is the biggest challenge let alone where you seat the audience.

    There were thoughts of holding a street race like in Monaco in Delhi , which is impossible get it into a standstill.

    A nation having to feed the poor in the road doesn't need a Ferrari on road to show its pride.

    This ain't gonna make people race a formula one car let alone many will hardly get a chance to drive a small car.

    Sports ministry has got its priority right for once, though the reason they gave was clumsy and utter bulllshit.

  • Unknown

    @venky: Bcci is a part of government..so does ministry of sports.. everything is a part of government. And JKSP sports demands only a part of money from ministry..Just an aid... Not the entire funds...

    What do you called china?? A developed country?? The economy of china and India are very similar. In every country there are rich and poor peoples..

    Just understand... That money goes only to the pockets of ministers... Not to poor people.. Being in India..dont you know about ministers... They wont spend money for a good cause...

    There are lots of fans for F1 in India,than we think venky. Just imagine with the formula one track the number of foreign visitors will go up automatically... which in turn will help Indian economy to up..

    I cannot agree the point of poor people here.. and India is not a poor country...

    Did BCCI give apartments to poor?? buddy this is India...you are speaking as if the ministers are doing good for the country...

    See they have no knowledge of the sport yet they are arguing...

  • Unknown

    @amith: thanks a lot for ur comment amith..

    @chowla: very true.. thanks for your comment...

  • Shilpa Garg

    Pretty enlightening post!! And good analysis too!!
    Learnt a thing or two! Thanks! :)

  • Unknown

    Thanks shilpa... thanks a lot for commenting..

  • @Shanker
    (though I didn't read this post of yours, will read and comment surely)

    thank you for all those comments out there.....I have a followers column which I think is giving some problem..will sort it out
    about template change i had been thinking this but I don't know how to import all the blogs that I put under blogs I read

  • Congrats!!! for all the awards :) I am not a sports fan, but I am fed up of Cricket for sure.. any other sports would be a good change

  • Unknown

    @RS: just copy all the links of the blogs u read and paste it in notepad and save it..change your template. then copy back again to your blog.

    you can do this to widgets too. just copy all the codes from blogger.com and then save it with notepad. then copy back after changing template...

  • Unknown

    @Ashwini: thanks a lot for commenting even though you are not interested in sports...

  • Madman

    @ shankar

    your view is very city centric man, The India you see in cities is no the real india. Do you know how many farmers suicide every year because low return. Do you know how much our govt spends in subsidies.

    BUddy if you are thinking BCCI is part of the govt please have a reality check. BCCI is a independent Board Organisation, no connection with the govt, The elcetion were held this year was the board disolutioned. The sports ministry doesnt give money to BCCI to build Stadiums or infrastructure it is the BCCI which spends

    China is not a democracy in the first place and it is far more developed than India is.

    Having a formula 1 race is luxury India doesnt need to strive to get, they need not support them with money. Let them invest their own money. Why should govt do it for them.

    LEt formula spend they are filthy rich arent they.

  • Unknown

    @venky: Ofcourse I have to accept i am city centric.... I have never v=been in a village and I never know about farmers... But nothing is going to farmers.... Do you think if the ministers are going to give something to farmers if they are not funding formula one..??? no way...still farmers are going to have same future... See farmers are commiting suicide..does it hve any connection with F1??? there are currently no tracks for F1 in India.. still the farmers die... So the uprising of the track is not going to change things.. it remains the same.. the money which goes to ministers pockets are going to be spent atleast to bring the track...Anyway the money is not going to be used for farmers... there is no point in this...

    there are places in china..which are very poorer than India.... China has larger population... and India is very equal to china in terms of economy...

  • the adamat soul

    I agree with u.....but F1 is different according to the sports ministry.

    If India can plan to land on moon, why not F1 ???

  • Madman

    Shankar let me tell Farmers get subsidies man if they dont get subsidies they dont get profit for their living or else the prices will increase. Farmers lives are more important than many rich people who have problem plenty going to watch formula 1. Dont say they dont rec subsidies, the food you eat is subsidised by govt, the gas you use is subsidised we do get lots of benefit indirectly, they need more support to save this draught and many other problems.

    WHy the hell should govt shed the money even if it is part of it. I dont see any worng in refusing that, If you want fromula build your own track, why do ask money or assistance from govt.

    look what you are telling is like this

    Pouring mineral water in a broken pot, no use.

    we need to fill the hole first. India's growth is not balanced they need to spend more on other more important things than assisting in building tracks.

    What the sports ministry did is right, but the way they did is wrong. F1 is not in our priority list.

  • Indian Pundit

    Yeah i agree with everything this post says.

    But i DONT think India should host F1.

    Look at the costs 36 MILLION DOLLARS.

    Lets use the money on FOOTBALL.

    After 25 years , India qualified for ASIA CUP 2011.

    Asian rank of India is 27....Syria 11......AND WE HAVE BEATEN SYRIA 2 TIMES IN LAST TWO YEARS.

    36 million dollars on football will be great and help this immensely popular sport .

    Also F1 is a ONE RACE WONDER.....but football is not.

  • Thanks for commenting..In my case, its more difficult because all my friends are common friends :( everytime I talk to someone, they make me more sad.. now have stopped talking to friends too

  • Shruti

    hey shankz i don't know much about F1 racing and you too know that :P!!
    But i can see your passion and love for this game!
    Hey i still remember the day when you were shouting excitedly "RED BARON IS BACK!"

    Great writing!!

    Keep smiling!!

  • Sugandha Gupta

    Though i disagree wid the ministry ths tym too as alwaz :P ... bt I guess it is better nt to spend money on this sport at the moment ...bt statement like it's not a sport sucks!!!
    n i believe cricket is a bit overrated too ... I mean they shud work for the development of national game n football n tennis first ...n hire much trained coaches n provide more facilicities... we have tremendous talent here!!!

  • Unknown

    @venky: venky..what farmers has got to do with formula one..farmers have separate funds..so does sports... so..this track cost is no way going to affect them or help them.. it is correct if you say other games has to be promoted.. but farmers have nothing to do with this....

  • Unknown

    @Ip: you are correct in one way.. But as for me I need F1 to be in india....

  • Unknown

    @adamat soul: ur correct buddy... very true...

    @shruthi:thanks... I am so mad about this game....I am mad to such an extent that i will make my son or daughter a racer...in future...

  • Unknown

    @suga: you are correct... but as i told in the post..this one is biased upon f1.... since i like the sport very much......

  • Unknown

    @evanescent thoughts: why ashwini?? why they make you sad? its not good..why you stopped talking to friends.... ??

  • Sugandha Gupta

    @ shankar : I like the sport too n may be thts the reason y m sayin it is nt smart to bring the sport to India at ths moment .... We both are very much aware of the fact tht F1 is not jus another sport or as easy as cricket or any other game for tht matter... bt our country will not or rather is not able to provide all the facilities ... for the sport like F1 it is very necessary to provide right kinda training and tracks as even one mistake can take the precious life. which is not only dangerous bt harmful too...so all n all ... bad idea for the moment!!!

  • Lakshmi Rajan

    Well am not a fan of F1 , so have not much to say on this issue. What I could safely say is indian sports in govt level is run by selfish minds far from the realistic and scientific approach towards sports otherwise there is no reason why a nation of 1 billion has to be feel the heat of shame in every olympics..

  • Madman

    @shankar

    no da i say this money should be diverted to them rather that should be our priority thats what i meant

  • Unknown

    @suga: yup..safety is a issue..but F1 admin will take care of those... only thing india has to do is build a good track... and provide some sponsors... Ofcourse the liquor baron VJ can do that..and f1 admin told that f1 will come to india in 2011 surely even though our government neglected it...

    @lakshmi rajan: you are correct..this is not only to f1... for every sport this is only happening... enough funds are not being spent....

  • Unknown

    @venky: that wont happen in India... it will be diverted.. but to the pockets of ministers..not to farmers..

  • pRiYaN...!

    informative article....i ve admired F1 race but didnt know these much informations about it... thanks!!!

    -bluffmaster

  • because they talk abt that person.. about what that person is doing.. I dont want to know about that person.. :)

  • yeah once upon a time, he was my best friend.. now I hate him for everything he did.. that's y dont want to talk abt/to that person..
    Yeah I made the template using Photoshop.. just search for some photoshop tricks.. I did this by referring to a book on photoshop.. they had given an example.. I just followed that.. it's very easy.. u can make it too

  • @Shanky Bro(Can I call U?)
    well I am not a very fan of F1 but I have some views..
    Lets see it point by point:
    1. 3. and 4.rubbish point by ministry(as u explained)

    2. has some truth... and I think that is the major point and it somehow overshadows it all.
    but I suggest that Govt. should let the formation of track and only do the job giving a tax-free piece of land..I think that would settle..
    and as for monetary fund is required I am sorry Bro, but India is too poor to invest in such costly projects..
    u need to understand that this would another excuse for ministers to suck more from poor people's veins...


    btw
    I did what you said and guess what I was successful.. u can see it.. thank you Shanky Bro..

    cheers!!

  • Unknown

    @rsv: sure..you can call so....no problem... may be i would feel heart breaking if a girl calls me bro..lol.. you can call me any way as u like...will check out ur blog...

  • Unknown

    @evanescent: it was really gud..the Photoshop thing..I dont have that much patience to create one... it takes a long time..

  • Unknown

    @rsv: buddy where to comment in your blog??? no comment form is embedded in it..please have a look at it...

  • Lavanya

    Shankar, i agree with every point in your post..

    I am a big fan of F1. And frankly i wanted to see somebody from india showing up in the pole positions. i was very happy to see Sutil's name in the second position. Getting to pole position itself is not easy leave alone the winning of the game. So i felt he did a great job.

    Coming to comments of our ministers about this sports, its rubbish and ridiculous.. they can spend crores of rupees just to honor cricketers after winning T20 world cup but its too costly to get a track ready for F1 races what a joke is that..

    Take IPL people are spending crores to make up a team, so is F1 track laying gonna be costly than that one.. i say encourage all sports.. we can start off making gains out of our internal car races and then get to bringing in F1. USA does that.. look at their NASCAR its a popular sport internally than F1. There is only one track in indianapolis. why cant we do something like that.

    Hatsoff to Vijay Malya, he is keeping up the pride of the tricolor. I think if our other popular and affluent indians can pitch in like him then the day we have a delhi or bombay or chennai or calcutta grand prix is not far off..

  • Unknown

    @lavanya:yeah..nascar is so popular there... and US are making their entry this year in formula 1.. I may call this a a revolution..expect a lot from them... thanks for ur comment... after a very long time...

  • Unknown

    @rsv: you are correct... rsv.. the ministers will do that too... they are stupids...

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