Motorsport is a popular form of sport in India for over 100 years.The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (fmsci) is the National governing body for motorsports approved by FIA and FIM. FMSCI, usually written in small caps, is the National Federation that organises nearly a dozen Nationals in various disciplines of motorsport. Some of the popular Indian motorsports Nationals are: Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), [1] Indian National Supercross Championship, Indian National Car Racing Championship, Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship and Indian National Rotax Max Karting Championship. [2]
Much before F1 came to India, the country has been organising single-seater Formula races and the Indian National Rally Championship, one of the oldest competitions in the world. Formula One has taken off in the country in the 2000s, with two Indian drivers competing making it to the pinnacle of the sport. Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok are first two F1 drivers from India, in that order. The first-ever Formula One Indian Grand Prix took place in 2011, at the Buddh International Circuit. The Formula One team, Force India Formula One Team Limited, founded and managed by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya, is registered as an Indian outfit. The team based at Silverstone, United Kingdom competed in F1 for ten consecutive seasons starting from 2008–2018. The team's highest position in the Formula One Constructors Championship was fourth in the 2016 season. The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India is the official governing body of motorsport in the country. India riders also competed in the Moto GP, Moto 3 class with Mahindra Racing. Mahindra were based in Switzerland and held an Indian licence. Sarath Kumar is the first Indian to ride in the MotoGP Moto3 class.
Two Powerboating F1H2O Grand Prix of India took place in Mumbai and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. The first in Mumbai was held in 2004 while the last Grand Prix took place in 2018 in Vijayawada, near Amaravati. Since 2018, a team named Amaravati competed until 2019 with driver Jonas Anderson finishing the season with equal total points (36) to the 2019 World Champion American Shaun Torrente. The title of "World Champion" was given to Shaun Torrente instead of Jonas Anderson on count back of podium results. Shaun obtained more 2nd positions during the season. [3]
On 1 February 2005, Narain Karthikeyan became India's first Formula One racing driver. In March 2007, he also became the first ever Indian-born driver to compete in a NASCAR Series. He debuted in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in the Kroger 250. [4] Force India F1 is a Formula One motor racing team. The team was formed in October 2007, when a consortium led by Indian businessmen Vijay Mallya and Michiel Mol bought the Spyker F1 team for € 88 million. [5] After going through 29 races without a point, Force India won their first Formula One World Championship points and podium place when Giancarlo Fisichella finished second in the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix. [6] New Delhi hosted the Indian Grand Prix in 2011 at Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, 50 km from New Delhi. In the 2011 Formula One season, Karun Chandhok was the test driver for Team Lotus & Narain Karthikeyan was the test driver for HRT. Both Chandhok and Karthikeyan stepped in (for Jarno Trulli and Daniel Ricciardo, respectively) at the 2011 Indian Grand Prix; it was the first time two Indian drivers compete in the same Formula One Grand Prix.
In December 2013, Mahindra Racing join the FIA Formula E Championship. [7] For the first season in 2014–15, Karun Chandhok drives alongside Bruno Senna. [8] Mahindra finishes 8th of the Teams Championship. The Indian driver leaves the team after the first season, [9] and is replaced by Nick Heidfeld. [10]
On 17 January 2022, the city of Hyderabad signed a letter of intent with the FIA, making them a potential new E-Prix for the 2022-2023 Formula E season. [11] On 11 February 2023, Hyderabad will host first ever Hyderabad E-Prix at Hyderabad Street Circuit. This will be debut of Formula E in India. Motorcycle motorsports world championship MotoGP is also decided to make its debut in the country at the Buddh International Circuit, which hosted three Formula One Grand Prix's in the past as discussions have already been held between the Indian Motorsports Federation and the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), for the Grand Prix of Bharat MotoGP in 2023. It is expected that India being the largest market for two-wheeler vehicles in the world, can hence be an attraction for International Motorcycle racing in the country and can gain a lot of public response and attention.
Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan is an Indian racing driver. He was the first Indian driver to compete in Formula One.
Formula racing is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single-seater regulations, or formulae. The best known of these formulae are Formula One, Formula E, Formula Two, Formula Three, regional Formula Three and Formula Four. Common usage of "formula racing" encompasses other single-seater series, including the IndyCar Series and the Super Formula Championship.
Circuit Ricardo Tormo, also known as Circuit de Valencia and officially named Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo, is a 4.005 km (2.489 mi) motorsport race track located in Cheste and built in 1999. The track is named after Spanish, two-time world champion Grand Prix motorcycle racer Ricardo Tormo (1952–1998), who died in 1998 of leukemia. It has a capacity of 165,000 and a main straight of 0.876 km (0.544 mi).
The Red Bull Junior Team is a driver development program run by the conglomerate company Red Bull GmbH in an attempt to identify potential future racing stars in open wheel racing. The similar Red Bull Driver Search, now ended, was an American spinoff of the same idea held in 2005. Members of the Junior Team are financed and sponsored by Red Bull in lower racing formulae.
Rodin Motorsport is a motor racing team based in the United Kingdom. It currently competes in six championships: FIA Formula 2 Championship, FIA Formula 3 Championship, GB3 Championship, F1 Academy, F4 British Championship and Spanish F4 Championship.
Karun Chandhok is an Indian racing driver and television presenter who last competed in Formula E for Mahindra Racing. Previously, Chandhok has competed for Hispania Racing in Formula One in 2010. Before this, he drove in the GP2 Series for three years, winning two races. In 2013, Chandhok competed in the FIA GT Series for Seyffarth Motorsport.
The Korea International Circuit is a 5.615 km (3.489 mi) motorsport circuit located in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, South Korea, 400 km (250 mi) south of Seoul and near the port city of Mokpo. It was the venue for the Korean Grand Prix from 2010 to 2013 after a $264 million deal between Bernie Ecclestone and the Korean F1 promoter Korea Auto Valley Operation.
The Indian Grand Prix was a Formula One race in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship, which was held at the Buddh International Circuit in sector 25 along Yamuna Expressway in Gautam Buddh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh from 2011 until 2013.
HRT Formula 1 Team, formerly known as Campos Meta 1 and Hispania Racing, was a Spanish Formula One team founded by former driver Adrián Campos. It was sold to José Ramón Carabante before its debut in 2010, and then to investment group Thesan Capital in July 2011. It was the first Spanish team to race in Formula One; a previous effort known as "Bravo F1" failed to enter the sport in 1993.
The 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 65th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. The original calendar for the 2011 Formula One World Championship consisted of twenty rounds, including the inaugural running of the Indian Grand Prix before the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Pirelli returned to the sport as tyre supplier for all teams, taking over from Bridgestone, marking their return to Formula One for the first time since the 1991 season. Red Bull Racing was the reigning Constructors' Champion. Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel was the defending Drivers' Champion, one of five World Champions appearing on the grid. Vettel won his second World Championship at the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix, becoming the youngest driver, at 24 years and 98 days, to do so. Red Bull Racing won the Constructors' Championship.
The Buddh International Circuit is an Indian motor racing circuit situated at Dankaur, near Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The track shares its name with Gautama Buddha, as does the district of its location. The track was officially inaugurated on 18 October 2011.
A street circuit is a motorsport racing circuit composed of temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor races. Airport runways and taxiways are also sometimes part of street circuits. Facilities such as the paddock, pit boxes, fences and grandstands are usually installed temporarily and removed soon after the race is over but in modern times the pits, garages, race control and main grandstands are sometimes permanently constructed in the area. Since the track surface is originally planned for normal speeds, race drivers often find street circuits bumpy and lacking grip. Run-off areas may be non-existent, which makes driving mistakes more expensive than in purpose-built circuits with wider run-off areas. Racing on a street circuit is also called "legal street racing".
The 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 March 2010 at the Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the seventh Bahrain Grand Prix and the opening round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was the first time since 2006 that Bahrain had hosted the opening round and the race took place on a lengthened layout of the track.
Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification 3.426-mile (5.514 km) motor racing track and facilities located in Austin, Texas, in the United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand Prix, NASCAR's Texas Grand Prix, and the Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas, a round in MotoGP and the FIA World Endurance Championship with the Lone Star Le Mans. It previously hosted the Australian V8 Supercars, the Americas Rallycross Championship, the American Le Mans Series, the Rolex Sports Car Series, the IMSA SportsCar Championship and the IndyCar Classic.
The 2011 Indian Grand Prix, formally the 2011 Formula 1 Airtel Grand Prix of India, was a Formula One motor race that was held on 30 October 2011 at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was the seventeenth round of the 2011 Formula One season and the first Formula One Grand Prix to take place in South Asia and first to take place in India.
Mahindra Racing is a motor racing team based in Banbury, United Kingdom, competing with an Indian racing licence. It is part of the Mahindra Group. The team is currently competing in the electric FIA Formula E Championship and has been since the inaugural season in 2014. The team formerly competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, fielding a team in the junior 125cc category between 2011 and 2015. Mahindra later refocused on being a bike and engine supplier, until ultimately pulling out of the sport in 2017.
As of 2024, there have been two Formula One drivers from India. Indian Formula One drivers have had a race entry to 59 Grands Prix. Across these Grands Prix, Indian Formula One drivers have accumulated 5 points between them. No Indian driver has taken a race win, podium, fastest lap or pole position.
Motor sports are widely popular in the United States, but Americans generally ignore major international series, such as Formula One and MotoGP, in favor of home-grown racing series.
Arjun Maini is an Indian professional racing driver, currently competing in the DTM. He has previously also competed in FIA Formula 2 Championship with Trident Racing, as well as Campos Racing.
Vicky Bharat Chandhok is an Indian racing driver and motorsport administrator. He served as the president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) from 2003 to 2005, and from 2010 to 2013,