Thanda bole toh F1?

Bernie Ecclestone had said, "As per statistics from each country that has hosted F1—first year is always good, second year is dull and in it’s third year the event picks up." Sadly, just less than 20 days to the event and unlike the last two years, the buzz around the event, to be held from October 25-27 in Noida, seems thanda.

Last year at the Formula One ceremony in India, Bernie Ecclestone, president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration had said, “As per statistics from each country that has hosted F1—first year is always good, second year is dull and in it’s third year the event picks up."

Ferrari-driver-Fernando-Alonso-of-Spain-centre-and-Ferrari-driver-Felipe-Massa-of-Brazil-3rd-right-walk-past-grid-girls-during-a-drivers-track-parade-ahead-of-the-start-of-the-Formula-One-Korean-Grand-Prix-in-Yeongam-AFP-Photo

Sadly, just less than 20 days to the event and unlike the last two years, the buzz around the event, to be held from October 25-27 in Noida, seems

thanda

.

No confirmations from celebs, no star performance (Last year Santana performed and in 2011 Lady Gaga sang for a select audience), no special screenings and offers by city clubs and restaurants.

"F1 craze has lowered. Last year also the turnout for F1 was not as expected. For restaurant business, cricket rules. This year, for F1, we are not planning any unique menu as we did last time. We are not even planning to screen it as of now," says Priyank Sukhija, owner of Out of the Box, Hauz Khas Village.

Ekansh Bansal, co-owner, White Waters, adds, “We may or may not have any offers or any events related to F1 since people respond more to IPL or music."

Restaurant owners also say that the festive season is resposnsible for the cold response. "The craze among youngsters was very less last year. Going by that, we won’t create any special menu this time, we would rather work on Diwali feasts for that week," says Rohit Kapoor of Pizzeria Rossa.

In August 2011, bookmyshow had sold tickets worth Rs 1.5 crore within three hours of the first day. This time tickets under the various categories –— Rs 1500, 5000, 7500, 10,000 and 12,000 can be seen lying unsold on the website.