APRIL 11, 2005

Now Chennai (Madras) looks at F1

The chief minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa says that she wants to bring Formula 1 to the city. The remarks came during a visit from India's new F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan. He asked Jayalithaa to support a project to host a Grand Prix in his home town of Chennai and the minister explained that she had already written to India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking for government aid to build a track in the area.

Tamil Nadu State is located in the south eastern side of Indian peninsula with Kanyakumari as the southernmost tip of the land.  This tip is the meeting point of Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian sea. Tamil Nadu has a long eastern coastline dotted with beaches. It was this area which was hit by the recent tsunami. The state is one of the most industrialised states in India and Chennai boasts an international airport. The state has a population of 62m.