Formula 1 is looking for the right set of promoters and collaborators for a sustainable return to India, its CEO Stefano Domenicali said without committing to a timeline for the marquee event’s comeback to the country. India hosted Formula 1 from 2011 to 2013 before the round was dropped from the calendar due to taxation and financial reasons. “There is a big interest from us to return to your country. There are the right things that we need to do, to find back again the right promoters, the right collaboration, and the right timing, which will not be in the very short term,” Domenicali told FanCode, which broadcasts F1 in India.

“But when we talk about five years in Formula 1, it seems to be very far away, but it’s not. There is not yet a fixed date on which we can really say something, but we see the interest that is growing at all levels.” It is the first time in a long while that a key figure in F1 has spoken about the Indian market.

“It is very important to say that we need to feel the interest from all the stakeholders of India because this is a project that, when we reach back to your country, has to be big.

“It has to be the right one, with the right level of investment and the right level of people, because your market is just phenomenal. I just want to guarantee that we’re going to be there for sure one day and in the right condition,” Domenicali said.