To increase popularity of F1, Media needs to play a key role - Harneet Ahuja

Formula 1 in India is in a very nascent stage at present as compared to other participating countries. Though the fan base for F1 has increased over the few years with the Indian Grand Prix being in the calendar from 2011-2013 but with the recent announcement of the FIA that the Indian Grand Prix will be discontinued from 2014 is certainly a setback for the Indian fans and media. Despite winning laurels in terms of being one of the most challenging well designed circuits built by Jaypee Group as quoted by the 4^th time world champion “Sebastian Vettel” and  a potential to generate around $170 million in revenue and employ as many as 10,000 people thereby improving the economic prospects.

So what were exactly the reasons behind FIA taking such a drastic measure and removing it from the calendar? One reason that was evident was the involvement of both traditional and social media channels to increase the engagement of people watching during the race which resulted in FIA to consider this venue as not being profitable in the long run. With sport like cricket which is played throughout the year, F1 spans for only a weekend and subsequently the excitement and craze fades away. Media has to play a big role in keeping the fans engaged throughout the season which is 18 races long across several countries and has been always seen a close title finish.  Take for example the case of McLaren.com, which was able to engage 800,000 people viewing the artwork and over 25,000 fans on their Facebook even before the launch of the season such activities need to keep the fans motivate and engaged and give away facts and trivia throughout. One more thing that the media channels can tap on is the level of interest and engagement a fan has with sport. No more activity can match that up and so if you treat fans well throughout there will more share of voice for the sport which will ultimately lead F1 to see a great potential in the country.