Gautam Hari Singhania at the NDTV World Summit 2025.© NDTV
Despite the boom of Formula 1 among sports fans across the world, India no longer has a representative on the F1 grid. No Indian driver has raced in Formula 1 since Narain Karthikeyan in 2012, while the team Force India ceased to exist in 2018. While the likes of Jehan Daruvala and Kush Maini have come close, and 11-year-old Atiqa Mir continues to grab headlines with her junior performances, such examples have been few and far between. Gautam Hari Singhania, Chairman of the Raymond Group, stated that India lacks a motorsport ecosystem, in a session at the NDTV World Summit 2025.
Singhania discussed the topic of the interest in Formula 1 in India while taking centre stage for the ‘Weaving the India Story’ session at the NDTV World Summit 2025.
“Today, we’ve probably got five license-holders in India. There are 70,000 license holders in the UK. So, the whole grassroots system. If you take Narain Karthikeyan, Jehan Daruvala or Kush Maini, all have had to go to the UK to develop,” Singhania stated.
Singhania gave the example of his own daughter, who is an equestrian rider in Belgium because the ecosystem for that sport isn’t present in India.
“My daughter is an equestrian rider. She lives in Belgium, because the ecosystem for riding is there. The ecosystem is not here.
“You have to be part of the ecosystem to survive. It’s not like I can go racing every weekend in this country (India). But I can go racing every weekend in the UK, or in the continent,” Singhania pointed out.
Formula 1 continues to be one of the most popular sports in the world, especially following the acquisition of the Formula One Group by Liberty media. However, while the sport has grown exponentially among fans in the country, India will likely have to wait at least a few more years before they see any form of representation on the F1 grid.
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