India does not like its date on the 2012 calendar
While the 2012 calendar proposed by Bernie Ecclestone is not unanimously accepted by the teams, the president of the Indian Federation also expresses reservations about the date now assigned to them.
After confessing to the Financial Times that he had to (verb) screw up the schedule (noun) to meet Bahrain’s demands for a date in November 2012 rather than at the start of the season, Bernie Ecclestone has produced a deeply revised 2012 calendar that is not unanimously welcomed by the teams, as it forces them into a major logistical challenge by holding 7 races in 10 weeks across 4 different continents.
The teams could, however, face a new constraint of a climatic nature this time. Initially announced on October 28, the Indian Grand Prix has been moved up to April 22, 2012, in the new version of the calendar. However, according to Vicky Chandhok, President of the Indian Federation, spring is the least favorable time for organizing a Grand Prix, as the sweltering temperatures are even more unbearable due to the low humidity. “I am not happy with April because it will be hot,” says Vicky Chandhok, president of the Indian Federation, to the agency Reuters. “However, if it has to be in April, we will manage, but I really think the ideal time for the Indian Grand Prix is when it is cooler, perhaps in March or in the fall.”
Given the proposed – or rather imposed – schedule by Bernie Ecclestone, there is little chance of India securing a date in the fall, which is already heavily cluttered after the rescheduling of the United States and Bahrain Grand Prix at the end of the season. The solution could be to move the Grand Prix to March, and possibly give it the date initially planned for Bahrain – March 11th – as the season opener. This solution would also leave a vacancy at the end of April to reschedule a Grand Prix currently set for the end of the season, such as the Korean Grand Prix, which was initially planned for April 22nd before Bernie Ecclestone’s adjustments. Thus, despite his stated intention to impose the current schedule, Bernie Ecclestone has made more losers than winners in this situation and might be forced to reconsider his plan.
The Buddh circuit is still not yet approved by Charlie Whiting, who decided to postpone his inspection until September for personal reasons: He will go to Korea at the end of this month [editor’s note: for the inspection of the Yeongam circuit] and his return flight will pass through Delhi. […] It’s simply a matter of procedure and convenience for the inspection date, explains Vicky Chandhok, who also claims that the Indian Grand Prix will be phenomenal: I have been to all the circuits in the world. This will be one of the fastest circuits in the world. It has a 1.2 km long straight and three corners that have been modified to meet FIA recommendations to encourage overtaking. I think it will be phenomenal. There will be plenty of overtaking opportunities.
