Sunday, October 27, 2013 is set to see the last Indian GP till 2015. Here are some interesting facts about the race.
First included in 2011 in the F1 calendar, the Indian GP which is hosted at the 5.141kms Buddh International Circuit was voted one of the best F1 race circuits in 2011 and 2012.
Designed by Hermann Tilke with 16 turns, the clockwise circuit has hosted three race weekends so far.
Located in Greater Noida, the first Indian GP saw Uttar Pradesh's chief minister Mayawati give away the winner's trophy in 2011.
Cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar waved the chequered flag in 2011. In 2012, shooter Gagan Narang did the honours and in 2013, boxing champion Mary Kom will be seen waving the flag at the start-finish line.
Sebastian Vettel is the only man to have won the Indian GP so far with wins in 2011 and 2012. If the triple world champion wins the Indian GP for the third time on Sunday, he will be crowned a four time world champion joining the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher as the only men to win the title for times in a row.
The race has been excluded from the F1 calendar for 2014 with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone citing political reasons and other problems as the reason why the race has been omitted.
The F1 circuit was initially named Jaypee Group Circuit after the circuit's owners but then was named the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) after The Buddha with a big B for Bharat, the Hindi name of India.
Besides F1, the BIC will also host the 2013, FIM Superbike World Championship.
The Indian GP is the home race of Sahara Force India which is owned by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and the Sahara group.
F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan who raced by Hisspania Racing Team in 2011 was the only Indian driver to race in the Indian GP.
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