F1 team name changes approved

Formula One stakeholders approved name changes for the Renault, Team Lotus and Virgin Racing teams at a commission meeting in Geneva.

While none of the teams concerned would comment on the matter, which has still to be ratified by the governing FIA`s world motor sport council next month, several Formula One sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the three requests had been accepted.

The decision will end the confusing situation of having two Malaysian-backed Renault-powered Lotus teams on the starting grid and also of a Renault team no longer owned by the French car maker.

Renault will become Lotus, the team`s current title sponsor, next season while Team Lotus are changing their name to Caterham, the niche British sportscar maker they recently acquired.

The latter change will be the team`s third name in as many years after entering Formula One in 2010 as Lotus Racing and then becoming Team Lotus for this season.

Virgin Racing had asked to be called Marussia, the Russian sportscar maker that is their major shareholder and title sponsor.

The requests had to be approved by 18 of the 26 members of the Formula One commission, of which International Automobile Federation president Jean Todt is one.

Indian GP begins with practice session

The D-Day is finally here. India’s first-ever Formula One Grand Prix began on Friday with a free practice session.

Although the Formula One World Championship has already been decided, excitement reached a crescendo when 24 cars lined-up on the grid at 10 am today for first of the two practice sessions scheduled for today.

And as soon as the cars were off the block, the audience let out a roar.

The practice sessions are important as it helps the drivers have a real look at the track and the team engineers understand track dynamics.

The qualifiers would be held tomorrow, followed by the real showdown on Sunday.


Formula One drivers are all excited about the Indian GP. They had their first brush with the track yesterday and found it "challenging".

The Buddh International Circuit is 5.137km long, with 16 corners (seven left and nine right). The race will be 60 laps at a distance of 308.220km. The maximum speed is expected to be 315kph, reached before turn four.

The fastest corner will be turn 12, taken at 255kph. The circuit has a main straight more than 1km long and a sweeping corner reminiscent of Turkey`s turn eight.

The pitlane extends more than 600m, one of the longest in F1.

Narain Karthikeyan, the only Indian driver to have scored points in F1, finishing fourth for Jordan in a six-car 2005 US Grand Prix, will also be the only Indian in the race, competing for HRT (Hispania).

It is a special day for Team Force India as it is their maiden appearance before the home crowd.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, 24, has already won the 2011 title as Formula One's youngest double world champion. He is only the ninth driver to win back-to-back championships.

Red Bull has also won the constructors' title for the second year running.

Why Jaypee invested $400 million in F1 race

Sameer Gaur Managing Director and CEO, Jaypee Sports International ameer Gaur has become slave to manuals. Next to his large wooden desk in his office in Greater Noida are stacked a pile of manuals: on catering, on logistics, on safety, on hospitality, among others. Created as templates for his employees, each contains minutiae on the exacting standards the facility that is getting ready to host India's first Formula 1 race-the pinnacle of motor racing- must achieve. Not aspire to, but achieve.

Even then, if everything goes according to those manuals and there's a full house on October 30, the MD and CEO of Jaypee Sports International will see his company lose about $35 million. It will lose a similar amount every year it hosts an F1 race. But Gaur won't mind. The current operating structure of F1 is such that it gives nothing to race circuits except a global calling card. But it's a card opens many, many doors, and that's what Gaur is eyeing.

A week of F1 will only build brands: of the Buddh International Circuit as a motor-racing venue, of the Rs 18,500 crore ($4 billion) Jaypee Group as an organiser and developer, of India as a market with possibilities. The business the circuit does in the other 51 weeks will determine if it turns a profit. "It's the other 51 weeks that need to be worked to cover costs," says Indian F1 driver Karun Chandhok. Gaur predicts a break even in "three to four years", riding on the visibility that F1 brings.

F1 is controlled by Formula One Management (FOM), in which private equity firm CVC Partners holds 70% and financial services firm JP Morgan holds 20%. But the face, voice and spirit of FOM is minority shareholder Bernie Ecclestone-a diminutive, 80-year-old, with a clump of white hair.

He is the gregarious power broker who negotiates with teams and circuits, among others. He tends to give them a deal they resent, after they see what he has kept for the people he represents, but grudgingly play along because what is left is still a fair bit. Fom is the supreme power in the sport. So, it receives all revenues from the sale of TV and Internet rights, gaming rights, and event and track sponsorships.

And the $1.5 billion entity doesn't pay a circuit to host an F1 race-the circuit pays it an annual fee. Since FOM is a private company, official numbers are unavailable, but it's widely quoted that 50% of its revenues are divided among the teams in a certain formula. However, nothing from that central pool comes to circuits. Circuits reportedly pay FOM $35-45 million a year as licence fee; the initial contract is for five years. Jaypee will also spend $15-20 million in operational costs-track and event management, logistics, and transport. That's a total operating cost of $50-65 million.