Indian GP: F1 corporate boxes up for sale

NEW DELHI: The Airtel Indian Grand Prix is still two months away but interest in the event is beginning to build up nicely. Tickets for the country's first F1 race on October 30 are selling briskly and demand for corporate hospitality boxes is also quite high.
Jaypee Sports International Ltd (JPSI), owners of Buddh International Circuit (BIC) which will host the GP, have put the corporate boxes in the price bracket of Rs 35 lakh to 1 crore.But the steep pricing has not affected the demand. "We have about 55 corporate boxes in the price range between Rs 35 lakh to a crore. The boxes will be on prime location at the circuit - right next to the podium. The demand for those boxes has been high," Askari H Zaidi, JPSI senior vice-president, told TOI on the sidelines of a CII seminar on Tuesday.
He added, "I can confirm that Shah Rukh Khan has bought one of the boxes while Airtel, title sponsors of the GP, have also bought some." Sources said that chairman of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani, has also bought one of the boxes.
The boxes are of different sizes with some seating five to seven people while others can seat about 10 to 14. In F1 races around the world, corporate hospitality usually entails paddock club hospitality pass, driver appearances, exclusive F1 VIP hospitality venue passes and pit tours. A seat in one of the corporate boxes will set back an individual by about Rs 7 to 10 lakh. In comparison to this, a seat in the corporate box during Indian Premier League matches at the Ferozeshah Kotla costs only Rs 12,000.
The approximate cost of building the BIC comes to about Rs 1800 crore and the owners want to maximize the revenues from the race. "We will be selling about 1,10,000 tickets this year. Looking at the demand, we are increasing the capacity to about 1,25,000," Zaidi said.
The organisers said the media centre being constructed at the track will conform to high standards. "It's been developed according to FIA instructions. It can hold about 480 journalists," the JPSI senior VP informed.
Homologation process on track: The FIA team, led by technical director Charlie Whiting, will be arriving in the Capital on Wednesday to get the process of homologation on its way. "The inspection of the track will take place on Thursday and Friday. We are confident that everything will be up to their liking," Zaidi said.