This weekend will be the first time the F1 circus travels to India. I have to say I’m looking forward to it; it should be a good one. Yes, both championships have been wrapped up and unfortunately the first Indian GP will not be viewed by as many people, had the championships not been over.

Think about it logically, if Vettel and Red-Bull still been in the hunt for the championship more people will be watching the race. Look at what happened when Schumacher dominated F1 since 2000 to 2004, TV viewership dwindled.

Now, this brings me to my next point. Should F1 be racing in developing countries, like India and South Africa? People will say a race with this much stature will help create jobs, but for how long?

According to a 2005 World Bank report, 41.6% of the total Indian population falls below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day. This is staggering, how many of the Indian population will be attending the race, I guess not a lot.

Take a look at the logistics, the track is situated outside New Delhi, the Buddh International race track cost the Indian government $400 million to build. $400 MILLION, this is preposterous, surely that money could have gone to help poor people improve their lives.

Take South Africa. Every year reports come out that everybody would love to see a return of the South African Grand Prix. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see the F1 circus return, but I would not be able to sleep at night knowing that we all spent millions on a new track or upgrading an existing one to host it.

About 57% of individuals in South Africa were living below the poverty income line in 2001, according to a report by the Southern African Regional Poverty Network (SARPN), surely the government or sponsors can create a plan to help the underprivileged people of our country?

This is the thing I don’t get about governments all over the world. Do you have a couple of million to help fight poverty? No! Do you have a couple of million to host a F1 race? Yes, I’ll sign a check! What is wrong with this picture?

Look, I love F1, but it just strikes me that the FIA will go to the highest bidder. I know this is good business, but what will the aftershock be in hosting a race? Look at what FIFA did to SA after we hosted the 2010 World Cup. We had to pay them for the honour and got very little back in return while FIFA pocketed $3,2bn from the?

So, for the FIA to get any credibility needs to set up a foundation in developing countries that host a grand prix to help the country economically. Give a little back…you know you want to.

For this weekend’s race, I will go with Hamilton, Vettel and Button on the podium.