Know the history behind Indian Grand Prix

New Delhi, Oct 18: As the excitement builds up for the second edition of The Indian Grand Prix, let's have a look at the history behind the F1 race that came to India last year. Indian Grand Prix is held at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. The first event took place on 30 October 2011 as the 17th race of the 2011 Formula One season. The new race track was officially homologated on September 1, 2011 by Charlie Whiting, and the inaugural race was won by Germany's Sebastian Vettel. The history of Indian Grand Prix started as early as 1997, when there were plans to host an Indian Grand Prix in Kolkata. In 2003, India had only two permanent raceways, one in Chennai (Irungattukottai), and Kari Memorial Speedway in Coimbatore. At that time two 600 acres (2.4 km2) sites in the vicinity of the Bangalore airport were examined. Also, in the state Andhra Pradesh, the then chief minister Chandrababu Naidu reserved 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) of land near the airport at Hyderabad. In December 2003, a seven-year pre-agreement to host the GP in Hyderabad in 2007 was signed. The track was to be built near Gopanapally village, near the outskirts of Hyderabad, and consisted of 1,367 acres (5.53 km2) of land. However, in 2004 there came competition from Mumbai, to shift the track from Hyderabad to Mumbai instead. However, these projects never came to fruition, possibly due to anti-tobacco legislation and a change in government policy. Both projects then were declared 'dead' in the second half of 2004, when Maharashtra government decided "not to waste money on car fumes while there are more serious issues", and the Hyderabad location was converted to an IT park for technology companies. In 2007, five locations remained in the running for hosting the Indian Grand Prix -- Bangalore, Gurgaon, a permanent track somewhere near New Delhi; a street circuit in New Delhi, as proposed by Vijay Mallya and a site in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Following months of negotiations, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Bernie Ecclestone, the brain behind F1, announced in June 2007 a provisional agreement for India to host its first Grand Prix as a part of the 2009 Formula One season. The track would be built in Gurgaon, in consultation with architect Hermann Tilke, it was then announced. However, in September 2007 the IOA announced that the debut race would take place in 2010 on the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida built by the Jaypee group. After further assessments of the timeframe involved, Ecclestone announced in September 2008 that the Indian Grand Prix has been delayed to 2011. In October 2008, the Renault F1 team showcased their car on a tour across all sites that were previously linked to a Formula One circuit in India, except Mumbai: Gurgaon, Lucknow, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Calcutta. The race is currently held at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, 24 km (14.9 mi) from Delhi. The circuit, designed by circuit architect Hermann Tilke, is 5.141 kilometres (3.194 mi) in length. The track is spread across an area of 875 acres, and is a part of Jaypee Green Sports city. The 10-year contract for the race has been given to the Indian construction company Jaiprakash Associates. The track, in all, has 16 largely medium speed corners where Formula One cars lap at an average speed of approximately 210 km/h (130 mph). The back straight lets cars reach a top speed of around 320 km/h (199 mph). The current Formula One lap record, set during the 2011 event, is 1 minute 27.249 seconds. Prior to the first race organizers received feedback from teams who performed track analysis using simulators, leading to modification of Turn 7 in order to maximize overtaking opportunities into the banked Turn 10. A grandstand with a capacity of 13,000 overlooks Turns 10 and 11. On 30 October 2011, the first F1 Grand Prix was held at the circuit. Sebastian Vettel won the event, his 11th victory of the season. He also took the fastest lap of the race on his last lap. Sachin Tendulkar waved the chequered flag to end the race. Red Bull won the Constructors Trophy. The only Indian driver, Narain Karthikeyan of HRT F1, finished in 17th position. The Indian team Sahara Force India's driver Adrian Sutil finished in 9th position.