New Delhi: The most expensive sporting event
Formula One did have a brush with the recession in the West
but sponsors are coming back and there is no financial crisis,
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said today.
"I don't know about India but most of the world is in
recession. Sponsorship was obviously a problem as a lot of big
names were reconsidering but it is better now and sponsors are
coming back," he said.
"There is no financial crisis now and there is no
shortage of sponsors in Formula One," Ecclestone told reporters.
At the same time, he expressed eagerness to explore more
corporate entities in India, the second fastest growing
economy in the world, saying the more the better.
He was responding to a query on whether F1 would be
looking beyond Vijay Mallya for sponsoring teams.
"When I come to India in October. I would meet with
people and see what is the best way to move forward," he said.
The recession took a toll in this year's F1 with Honda
pulling out and BMW announcing that they would not race from
next year. Toyota is also uncertain to return to F1 circuit
once the season ends.
In view of this, Formula One authorities had initially
contemplated a cap on expenditure of all F1 teams, even though
frontline teams like Ferrari and McLaren were against the
move. But the proposal has temporarily been shelved.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, September 02, 2009, 18:32