Well done!!!!!!!!!

We always knew he could do it and he has done it. Vijay Mallya is a true blood entrepreneur. Yesterday’s race proved all his critics and naysayers wrong who had written off his team as being a loser after it failed to achieve even a single point in the previous twenty nine races out of which his cars could not complete the race 18 times! Having bought the team for 88 million euros and working on a shoe string budget in these difficult times it must have been really very heartening for Vijay Mallya to see Fisichella on the podium and his team emerge with 8 points. What you guys need to understand and appreciate is the fact that Kimi Raikonnen who came first was driving a technically superior Ferrari car. Despite this handicap Giancarlo Fisichella gave Raikonnen a run for his money. All throughout the race Fisi was breathing down hard on Kimi Raikonnen. Just that that Kimi didn’t falter even once after taking the lead.

The car in action.

A word about the other driver of Force India, Adrian Sutil. While every body was concentrating on Kimi and Fisichella, Adrian Sutil also worked his way up from his 15th position at the start point to finish eleventh. In fact at one time he was a credible eighth. His efforts too are praiseworthy. I’m sure he will do better.

This is the moment when Kimi overtook Fisi.

Fact is that the turn around in the team’s fortunes came about after Mallya tied up with Mercedes Benz for the engine. Yes, that made all the difference. With this engine now the team has a car which is quite comparable with the best in the business. Not only this I’m sure Mercedes will now be more than happy to help him further after this team has done justice to the faith shown by them in Team Force India.

And here’s the good part. If his team is able maintain this kind of run and by the end of this year if they do not finish last they stand to gain part of earnings from TV rights which runs into a couple of hundred million dollars. Apart from this there are other fringe benefits like travel expenses etc etc. Also, with the team now doing better it would rake in more sponsors and that may in-turn imply more money for improvements on the car. Whatever be the case we can safely say that Vijay Mallya has now entered the big league of Formula 1. I just hope his team can sustain the kind of show they put up in Belgium.

Pertinent to talk about the sport ministry’s stance on the proposal of making an F1 track in India where they have quite categorically stated that F1 is ‘not a sport’ but just ‘entertainment’ in which case F1 would not be given certain tax waivers which would otherwise apply only on sports activities. I hope this win makes them reconsider their rigid stance and pave the way for F1 to be held here in India sometime in the near future. It would be a big boost for the country’s image. Even country’s like Mexico and Morocco have an F1 circuit whereas we don’t (You can read all about the various circuits here). The ministry needs to be aware of all these things and not crib about frivolous issues, especially where country’s image is at stake. And believe you me it is. Not only the image it has the potential to start a whole new industry for this purpose which can develop into a nationwide craze for the sport, which can only be good for us and for our economy, like it is for cricket.

Alright, for those who you who need to know more about the F1 races and the Belgium race in particular here’s the link to the official F1 website. For those of you who need to know what Kimi and Fisi said after the race here’s the link to the website of Force India. For more pictures of Belgian Grand Prix click here. And now, let us wish our team all the very best for the rest of the five races of the season!!!!!!!!!!!

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Posted on August 31st, 2009 India calling • Tags: Belgium, circuit, F1, Fisi, Fisichella, Formula1, Mallya, race, Sutil. • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback