RacingIndia’s sports minister said a 2027 Formula 1 race is “100%” happening at Buddh International Circuit. Formula 1 immediately ruled that out.
Formula 1 said it will not race in India in 2027 despite the public pledge from Mansukh Mandaviya. “There will be an F1 race in India in 2027. This is 100% happening. The first race will be at the Buddh International Circuit,” Mandaviya, India’s Sports Minister, said while speaking to the media on April 12. He outlined the next steps and the government’s role too. “It will take another six months to work out the modalities… The government will help in getting the tax relaxations that had become a bone of contention so that it is a viable venture for the organisers,” Mandaviya, India’s Sports Minister, said in the same media briefing.
F1 pushed back on the timeline right away. “While India is a valuable market for Formula 1's continued growth with an amazing passionate fanbase, we won't be racing there in 2027,” a Formula 1 spokesperson said in a statement to Crash.net. Reinforcing that stance, F1 pointed to the squeeze on dates. Interest in hosting “has never been stronger” and there is “a limited number of spaces on the calendar,” a Formula 1 spokesperson said in a statement to RacingNews365 that also highlighted a record 24-round schedule.
India last hosted F1 from 2011 to 2013 at Buddh. The event fell off the calendar after three races. Financial and tax complications made it hard to sustain, according to reports. The state of Uttar Pradesh treated F1 as entertainment rather than sport, which brought heavier taxes, and the circuit’s promoter was paying around £25 million per year just for hosting rights, according to reports. That mix left the race economically unviable.
The split messages underline how complex any comeback would be. Mandaviya says the government intends to smooth the tax burden to make a return feasible. F1, while calling India a valuable market, says it cannot make space as soon as 2027. Calendar slots are scarce, and the championship is already running a record number of events. Crash.net noted that F1 and the FIA make the final calls on what makes the calendar, not governments.
Buddh International Circuit remains the named venue in the minister’s plan. The circuit staged three Formula 1 races, and Sebastian Vettel won all of them on his way to titles in that era. The track’s past presence shows India can host grand prix machinery. The path back now runs through two tracks of work, the local fix on costs and taxes that Mandaviya laid out, and the global calendar limits that F1 set out in its statements.