Despite the issue surrounding the Indian Grand Prix, the organisers are confident that the race will be hosted in the country. Confident on the prospects that the petition shall be brought down by the Supreme Court, the organisers of the event are saying that there are bleak chances that the event could could get cancelled over the alleged unpaid taxes. The apex court of India will hear the case on October 25 in connection with the petition that was filed against the organisers of Formula One race for not paying taxes. In 2011, a ruling stated that Grand Prix races should be classified as entertainment rather than sport, thereby denying them tax exemptions.
Vicky Chandhok, Head of the Indian Motorsport Federation, said “You do find the odd persons going out to try to stop sporting events - be it cricket or whatever. It has happened before and it is nothing new to this country. We are the world's largest democracy and filing a public interest litigation (PIL) in any court is possible. However, the courts by themselves are just a system, and the judges do not take kindly to a sporting event being stopped, especially on the eve of the event."
Going by what Chandhok said, Sameer Gaur (Promoter of Indian Grand Prix) was quoted as saying “Such a massive facility has been made here, an investment of more than 400 million dollars in the circuit apart from the licence fee. We have a contract so I see no reason why we won't come back." While Chandhok stressed on the fact that the race will not be impacted by these developments and it shall be hosted as per schedule. "I personally don't think it will affect the event at all, the event will go through as scheduled. They will let the litigation be heard as normal court but you cannot hold an event to ransom. That is not my worry at all, " he added later on.
In the meanwhile, Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel leads his Ferrari rival, Fernando Alonso by 90 points and is expected to add fourth world crown to his name at the Indian Grand Prix. A thing to note here is that, Vettel has led every racing lap at the Indian Grand Prix since the first race in 2011 and will claim his title if he finishes at fifth sport or higher irrespective of Alonso's position. The future of India hosting another Grand Prix after 2013 is uncertain as of now after F1 Chief Bernie Ecclestone omitted the race from 2014 calendar. Since then organisers are trying to convince the managers of Formula One to find a new date for the event in 2015 as Ecclestone was insisting on shifting the event to early phase of the race calender.
