The Grand Prix of India will be a Formula One race held at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. The first event is scheduled to take place on October 30, 2011 as the 17th race of the 2011 Formula One season The new race track was officially homologated on September 1, 2011 by Charlie Whiting, and the inaugural race is now confirmed to have its debut in 2011.It is the second fastest circuit in the world with top speed of about 318 km/h (198 mph)
Originally known as the Jaypee Group Circuit or the Jaypee International Race Circuit after the circuit's owners, the circuit was officially named the Buddh International Circuit in April 2011. According to Sameer Gaur, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Jaypee Sports International, the name is derived from the word Buddha, and represents peace and calm. The name is also a reference to the Gautam Budh Nagar district in which the circuit is located, itself named after the Gautam Buddha. The Buddh International circuit logo consists of a ‘B’ which also resembles a heart.
The track in all has 16 largely medium speed corners where F1 cars will lap at an average speed of 210 km/h. The back straight will let F1 cars reach 320 km/h making it one of the fastest tracks in the world. The expected F1 car lap time is 1 minute 27 seconds. The organizers have also taken feedback from teams which have done the track analysis via simulators leading to modification of the turn 7 in order to maximize overtaking opportunities into banked turn 10. A grand stand with a capacity of 13,000 will overlook the turn 10 and turn 11 giving the F1 fans an opportunity to be a part of the action.
