The 17th round of the 2012 Formula One World Championship kicks off on October 26, 2012 with twenty five race drivers and twelve teams eyeing the podium finish at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC), Greater Noida. The practise sessions start at 1000 hours in the morning and then at 1400 hours in the afternoon, while Saturday and Sunday will witness the qualifying rounds and final race, respectively.
The official venue of the 2012 Formula One Airtel Indian Grand Prix, BIC hosts six previous World Champions battling for the pole position, comprising Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. With such big names, the Indian edition is anticipated to be a nerve wrenching affair.
The first and second practice sessions on Friday have been scheduled for 90 minutes each, which will give a general idea about which driver and car have been perfectly calibrated for the Indian conditions. The weather in the country is usually pleasant during October month and some great sporting hours are expected over the weekend.
However, Indian F1 enthusiasts will be hoping that the 2012 race goes without any shortcomings and embarrassments, like last year when a stray dog entered the circuit. The incident attracted lot of ridicule from Indian and International media and turned out to be major spoil sport before the race. Further, better parking areas and customer services are expected this year.
The 5.14 km BIC track is among the world's fastest F1 circuits with an average speed close to 208 kmph with most drivers regularly touching the 330 kmph mark. The 2012 Formula One Airtel Indian Grand Prix features 60 nerve cracking laps of superlative speeds, where each race driver requires just 1 minute and 24 seconds for traversing the entire track length.
The BIC has been conceptualised and built by Jaypee Sports International Limited (JPSI), a subsidiary of Jaiprakash Associates Limited (JAL), and can accommodate Moto GP and several other world motor sporting events as well.
