Sachin Tendulkar had a unique experience and for one, it had
not having to do with breaking his own cricket records. Instead his presence at
the first ever Indian Formula 1 Grand Prix was almost as important as the race
itself.
Michael Schumacher, Sachin Tendulkar
The Buddh International Circuit saw F1 boss, Bernie
Ecclestone, personally invite Indian batting’s colossus genius, Sachin
Tendulkar, for the inaugural event and Tendulkar had the honour of waving the
chequered flag as Red Bull’s double champion racing driver, Sebastien Vettel,
was the first to cross the finish line for a record eleventh time in the year
to match Michael Schumacher.
Tendulkar has been missing in action on the cricket field
and was not seen during the England team’s visit to India for the ODI series
with a toe injury. However, he turned up at the Noida venue with his wife,
Anjali Tendulkar, and daughter Sara Tendulkar for the prestigious event in a
major international motorsport event for India.
Sachin Tendulkar also observed a minute of silence along
with the F1 drivers by way of condolence for the tragic deaths of Dan Wheldon
and Marco Simoncelli who lost their lives in two separate motorsport accident
at the Indy car racing and Moto GP respectively, once again highlighting the
perils of high speed racing.
This though is not Tendulkar’s first brush with Formula One,
having met Michael Schumacher, then racing with Ferrari, during the British
Grand Prix in 2002 when the latter also presented him with his Ferrari which
Tendulkar recently sold for a Nissan GTR car.
Tendulkar was one of the high profile celebrities present at
the venue along with Bollywood actors as well as fellow cricketers such as
Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh. Tendulkar is said to be have been ecstatic
about the prospect of being the one ot wave the chequered flag at the end and
tweeted about it as much. Although Tendulkar is perhaps not all that well known
across the Formula One world as he is amongst the cricket friendly nation, that
he was possibly the highest ranked celebrity outside of the drivers themselves
could not be argued.
There is undoubtedly a grand following for Formula One
amongst Indians and the fact that the racing was brought to India made it more
of a celebration of adrenaline that is not easy to get over as the weekend
proved in plenty. However, that it can actually match the crazed following that
cricket enjoys in India seems a task even the multi million dollar speed thrill
would have earn over time. And that would not be easy with just the one race in
India although it would have done a lot towards making more people aware of the
sport and perhaps see more viewership from India for more international F1
races, although only two remain in the 2011 season.
While cricket cannot match steps with Formula One racing's
worldwide following, it would certainly have a tough task sustaining interest
in a sport that will see only one race a year.
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