Troubled India F1 GP 'on' after court challenge delayed

Organisers of this weekend's troubled Indian Grand Prix breathed a sigh of relief Friday after the Supreme Court pushed back a petition calling for the race's cancellation. Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel is expected to be confirmed as Formula One champion in Sunday's race on the outskirts of Delhi, needing only to finish in the top five to clinch the title for a fourth year in a row. His coronation had been thrown into doubt Thursday when the country's top court agreed to hear a petition brought by an activist who says organisers have still to pay entertainment taxes from last year's race. The petition had added to a general mood of despondency at the Greater Noida circuit which has already been removed from next season's list of Formula One venues. Although the court had been due to hear the petition on Friday, a lawyer involved in the case said it had now been pushed back. "The hearing will now take place next week," the lawyer told AFP on condition of anonymity. "This means the race can go ahead." Amit Kumar, the activist behind the petition, successfully argued two years ago that Formula One was entertainment and not sport, and should not benefit from tax exemptions granted by the state of Uttar Pradesh which hosts the race. While organisers have refused to comment on the new petition, entertainment tax has been levied on tickets this year for the first time in a move that has further hampered sales. A spokesman for the organisers said 40,000 tickets had been sold as of Friday afternoon for the 100,000-capacity circuit. Although India will not host a Grand Prix next year, the sport's supremo Bernie Ecclestone has pledged the Formula One circus will return in early 2015 in a rejigged calendar. This year's event is the third to be held at the $450 million Buddh International Circuit as part of a five-race contract. Sameer Gaur, CEO of the circuit's owners Jaypee Sports International Limited (JPSI), has said there "should be no doubt that we will be back in 2015" but his conviction is not widely shared. "We should have a clear indication if the race is going to be held here again or not," Monisha Kaltenborn, the India-born principal of the Sauber F1 team, told reporters. "We fail to understand why these kind of obstacles are being created and if there is a hidden agenda. "We need support from teams, sponsors and the government which however looks very unlikely in the current scenario. Without that it is going to be very difficult to establish ourselves here." The Times of India argued the central government's attitude had always been cool as it had "never accepted the race as its own". "The general mood in the paddock is that of disappointment that F1 has failed to set roots in the country," said the paper. "The race is already off the provisional racing calendar for 2014 and there is plenty of scepticism whether it will indeed return in 2015." If it is to be the last race, then spectators can at least look forward to the prospect of watching the championship decider. The 26-year-old Vettel has a 90-point lead over his nearest challenger, Spain's Fernando Alonso. The only way Vettel can be denied the title is if he fails to win a point in the remaining four races -- provided Ferrari's Alonso wins at least three of them and finishes second in the other. Vettel set a new lap record in first free practice on Friday, scorching round the circuit in 1min 26.68secs. "It's looking very good, but we have to focus on the job at hand," Vettel, who will join Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio as only the third man to win four straight titles, told reporters Thursday. The Red Bull team, which includes Vettel's team-mate Mark Webber, could also secure their fourth successive constructors' title. "We believe we are good enough to secure the championships. It will be something very, very special for us," said Vettel. Source: AFP