Podcast: Inside Line F1
Published Date:
Wed, 13 Apr 2022 22:16:53 +0000
Duration:
1371
Explicit:
False
Guests:
MP3 Audio:
Please note that the summary is generated based on the transcript and may not capture all the nuances or details discussed in the podcast episode.
Here's the final episode of our three-part series - 'What's your Force India F1 team story?'
In this episode, Ravikant Sabnavis and Kunal Shah talk about working with the billionaire owners of the Force India F1 Team - Vijay Mallya & Subrata Roy.
To tune in to the previous episodes:
The duo joke about how one owner chased 'glory on track' while the other chose 'personal glory', the cultural differences between two of Asia's largest private sports investors of the previous decade and more.
This episode also has in discussion the famous Monaco Yacht Party that was hosted by Vijay Mallya in Monaco on the Indian Empress, how Force India became Sahara Force India - the resultant changes in team name, logo and others.
Tune in!
(Season 2022, Episode 21)
Follow our hosts on Twitter: Ravikant Sabnavis, Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah
Image courtesy: Google
**Episode Overview: Force India F1 Team's Billionaire Owners**
This episode of the podcast series "What's your Force India F1 team story?" centers around the contrasting personalities and leadership styles of Vijay Mallya and Subrata Roy, the billionaire co-owners of the Force India F1 team.
**Vijay Mallya's Flamboyant Leadership:**
* Known for his flamboyant lifestyle and business ventures, Vijay Mallya had a clear vision for the Force India team: to achieve "best of the rest" status.
* Mallya's passion for motorsports and his commitment to excellence drove the team's success, despite limited financial resources.
* He was a brilliant and charismatic individual who demanded the best from his team and expected them to deliver results.
**Subrata Roy's Scattered Approach:**
* Subrata Roy, on the other hand, had a more scattered approach to leadership.
* He lacked the focus and attention to detail that Mallya possessed, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities.
* Roy's involvement in various business ventures detracted from his commitment to the Force India team, hindering its long-term growth.
**Cultural Differences and Challenges:**
* The contrasting leadership styles of Mallya and Roy led to cultural differences within the team.
* Mallya's focus on track performance clashed with Roy's desire for personal glory and visibility.
* These differences manifested in disputes over team name changes, logo placements, and sponsorship deals.
**Memorable Moments and Insights:**
* The podcast delves into memorable moments, such as the Monaco Yacht Party hosted by Mallya and the infamous coconut ceremony before races.
* It highlights Mallya's business acumen, his ability to connect with people, and his insistence on perfection.
* The episode also sheds light on Roy's scattered approach, his tendency to micromanage, and his lack of focus on core objectives.
**Conclusion:**
The podcast concludes with a discussion of what could have been if Mallya and Roy had worked together more effectively. Despite their contrasting personalities and leadership styles, they shared a common goal of success for the Force India F1 team. However, their inability to find common ground ultimately hindered the team's potential for even greater achievements.
[00:00.000 -> 00:24.000] Well, we all know that Formula 1 is a sport full of these outstandingly colourful characters.
[00:24.000 -> 00:28.320] We've all heard about Bernie Eccleston, we've all heard about Flavio Briatore and the likes,
[00:28.320 -> 00:32.760] but there are two characters in the world of Formula One and specifically from the Indian
[00:32.760 -> 00:37.760] side of Formula One that we want to bring into action here today, Vijay Mallya and Subrata
[00:37.760 -> 00:41.440] Roy. Now, if you guys don't know about them and you want to know about them in depth,
[00:41.440 -> 00:49.420] just watch the Bad Boy Billionaires documentary on Netflix. It kind of explains their companies, why they went bust. But to put it short, Vijay Mallya,
[00:49.420 -> 00:53.140] probably the most flamboyant individual in all of India. Let's put it that way across
[00:53.140 -> 00:57.740] history. Now, source of funds, yeah, all that you can find that out. But his company went
[00:57.740 -> 01:02.920] bust his airline Kingfisher, which of course, I guess Ravi was the marketing head of was
[01:02.920 -> 01:10.000] the most flamboyant airline as you would expect with Vijay Mallya. Subrata Roy had kind of like a Ponzi scheme company, but an official Ponzi scheme
[01:10.000 -> 01:14.480] company that used to advertise with the Indian cricket team. They bought into the force India
[01:14.480 -> 01:20.720] F1 team as well. Long story short, they went bust big time and things have gone sour. But it's not
[01:20.720 -> 01:30.300] the going bust that we want to talk about, right you can find on endless news channels But these characters that is what we want to focus on and I'll start with you on this one Ravi
[01:30.920 -> 01:36.680] You actually worked with the UB group previously. You were the marketing head there. You were the marketing head of Kingfisher
[01:36.680 -> 01:41.340] You then became the marketing head of 4Cner. So, you know Vijay Mallya very very well
[01:41.920 -> 01:46.000] What is it like working with Vijay Mallya? Because for all of you folks who haven't seen him,
[01:46.000 -> 01:48.000] he's this big, big bulky guy
[01:48.000 -> 01:50.000] who always has a cigar in hand,
[01:50.000 -> 01:52.000] the most lovely beard,
[01:52.000 -> 01:54.000] shaped perfectly, his hair is just in perfect fashion,
[01:54.000 -> 01:56.000] and the most expensive suits and watches
[01:56.000 -> 01:58.000] you can find. He's just like a
[01:58.000 -> 02:00.000] typical billionaire.
[02:00.000 -> 02:02.000] You missed one more aspect,
[02:02.000 -> 02:04.000] which is a continuous
[02:04.000 -> 02:05.680] flow of glasses of wine,
[02:06.560 -> 02:13.280] along with a cigar and everything else. But, well, you know, very colorful character indeed.
[02:13.280 -> 02:16.640] But I think on this episode, let me try and keep it as kosher as possible.
[02:19.760 -> 02:24.800] I think he was, you know, had contrasting personalities. And at one level, yes, indeed,
[02:24.800 -> 02:25.520] he was very, very flamboyant, and he loved to show it. And at one level, yes, indeed, he was very,
[02:25.520 -> 02:29.040] very flamboyant, and he loved to show it. And that's what flamboyance is about.
[02:30.240 -> 02:37.520] He was also a brilliant man. And, you know, I've used to interact with him directly and
[02:37.520 -> 02:41.200] had an opportunity to listen to what he used to say. He was also a great listener, as I said.
[02:42.240 -> 02:45.840] I think he was a brilliant guy with an awesome vision. The way he
[02:45.840 -> 02:53.440] built the airline and the vision he had about, you know, customer service, and he chased that
[02:53.440 -> 03:00.080] dream. Similarly, he wanted something out of Force India. And he was very clear, I want to be best of
[03:00.080 -> 03:09.680] the rest. And he and I think it's creditable that with the limited amount of money he had, he managed to do that. But yes, he was a very interesting guy to work with.
[03:10.400 -> 03:15.200] And with Vijay Mallya, right, because when he buys out the team, there's this whole air of
[03:15.200 -> 03:19.360] confusion in around India, like, why does this guy need a Formula One team?
[03:19.360 -> 03:23.680] Why doesn't he have enough of an airline? And what is this flamboyance? And what is this
[03:23.680 -> 03:29.040] flashiness that goes around? In the same year, he also bought a cricket team. He also kind of expanded the
[03:29.040 -> 03:34.480] airline. And you were right there at the center of it. Just the whole atmosphere around Vijayamalya,
[03:34.480 -> 03:40.000] can you call it just turbulent at all times? You know, when he actually, actually, I'm going
[03:40.000 -> 03:47.040] to say this about his F1 team, as opposed to the airline, he's been passionate about
[03:48.160 -> 03:54.640] motorsport ever since he was a kid. And he's raced in various kinds of cars,
[03:54.640 -> 03:58.080] even regular passenger cars. Right, in Sholavaram.
[03:58.080 -> 04:05.360] Sholavaram, yes. Yes, absolutely. So, that's one thing that he's pursued from a very young age. And I think
[04:05.360 -> 04:12.040] this was a culmination of that passion and dream. So I wouldn't actually to be fair to
[04:12.040 -> 04:16.920] him and you know, we all tend to sort of gauge people with different lenses. But in so far
[04:16.920 -> 04:26.680] as Force India is concerned, it's something that he's been passionate about as a sport from very, very young. The airline, I think was hubris.
[04:28.360 -> 04:31.480] And, you know, at the best of times,
[04:31.480 -> 04:35.120] airlines don't make too much money, right?
[04:35.120 -> 04:37.200] And of course, cricket was again,
[04:37.200 -> 04:40.920] something which he probably believed
[04:40.920 -> 04:42.320] that there's a story around that.
[04:42.320 -> 04:45.600] And I think over the last few years,
[04:45.600 -> 04:48.720] it's proved itself that IPL has become the benchmark,
[04:48.720 -> 04:53.720] even for young cricketers to make it to the national team.
[04:53.760 -> 04:54.920] Yeah, that's true.
[04:54.920 -> 04:55.760] Yes. That's true.
[04:55.760 -> 04:57.760] But Kunal, here's a question for you.
[04:57.760 -> 04:59.080] Speaking of the cricket team,
[04:59.080 -> 05:00.360] he wants to move a manager
[05:00.360 -> 05:01.680] because they didn't quite let him bid
[05:01.680 -> 05:04.080] for the player that he wanted.
[05:04.080 -> 05:10.000] Of course, in an IPL team, you work endlessly, tirelessly to form the strategy that this is the batter we need,
[05:10.000 -> 05:14.000] this is the bowler we need, auction dynamics come in, so we need to spend X amount of money.
[05:14.000 -> 05:16.000] Vijay Amalia doesn't do that.
[05:16.000 -> 05:22.000] You can call him, let's say, a man of his own will, and you earn that when you've got that much kind of money.
[05:22.000 -> 05:29.120] Is that a bit of a scary boss to work with, knowing that, okay, he could just well be on his own mood, he would like to do what he wanted. And so that
[05:29.120 -> 05:34.240] kind of makes any plan that you make a bit vulnerable to be successful in a way.
[05:34.240 -> 05:39.440] I'll actually say it adds to the challenge, because he not just had the money, he had the
[05:39.440 -> 05:45.360] vision and the wisdom behind doing things. So he wasn't one of those billionaires in a toy market
[05:45.360 -> 05:47.840] saying, I wanna buy that and I'll play for it,
[05:47.840 -> 05:48.920] play with it for a couple of days,
[05:48.920 -> 05:50.520] a couple of years and move on.
[05:50.520 -> 05:53.000] He always had a vision behind things.
[05:53.000 -> 05:56.040] And in fact, while working at a Formula One team,
[05:56.040 -> 05:56.880] there are lots of billionaires
[05:56.880 -> 05:58.800] and we have two very contrasting billionaires
[05:58.800 -> 05:59.640] we're gonna talk about.
[05:59.640 -> 06:03.000] So Subrata Rai Sahara and Vijay Mallya.
[06:03.000 -> 06:05.920] Vijay Mallya, like Ravi said, a great listener.
[06:05.920 -> 06:09.360] Even more, I would say, his memory skills,
[06:09.360 -> 06:11.040] if you were to make him play a memory game,
[06:11.040 -> 06:12.040] he'll beat anyone.
[06:12.040 -> 06:14.640] And I still remember we were on the yacht,
[06:14.640 -> 06:16.800] the Indian Empress in Monaco,
[06:16.800 -> 06:17.960] party was going on,
[06:17.960 -> 06:19.120] we were having a board meeting,
[06:19.120 -> 06:20.120] okay, of sorts.
[06:20.120 -> 06:21.560] And he actually said,
[06:21.560 -> 06:23.480] I remember four years ago,
[06:23.480 -> 06:24.840] we got this, we bought this,
[06:24.840 -> 06:28.120] it was stored in the basement at Silverstone.
[06:28.120 -> 06:29.560] How did you guys not remember it?
[06:29.560 -> 06:31.280] And I'm like, okay, wow.
[06:31.280 -> 06:33.200] And the value of what he was talking of
[06:33.200 -> 06:35.000] was some couple of thousand euros
[06:35.000 -> 06:37.640] and not a couple of tens and hundreds of thousands euros,
[06:37.640 -> 06:40.060] less than 10,000 euros if I remember.
[06:40.060 -> 06:44.000] But that was the kind of preparation he would always be in.
[06:44.000 -> 06:47.760] So, whether you met him at four in the morning or four in the afternoon,
[06:47.760 -> 06:50.840] you had to bring your best to the conversation
[06:50.840 -> 06:54.960] because he always had a much larger vision behind doing those things.
[06:54.960 -> 06:57.960] And, you know, even with regards to, like I explained,
[06:57.960 -> 07:03.000] every UB Group company paying to a rate card rather than an emotional thing,
[07:03.000 -> 07:05.360] oh, it's my boss's team, just give me a bigger logo.
[07:05.360 -> 07:09.280] That rate card came into help when the whole Sahara deal was happening. And maybe we could
[07:09.280 -> 07:15.040] just sort of, you know, talk a little bit about the merger. Because the conversation started,
[07:15.040 -> 07:19.920] you know, seven, eight months before the signing actually happened. And that's where, you know,
[07:19.920 -> 07:23.840] I think we should talk about the cultural differences that were there within the team.
[07:23.840 -> 07:26.960] And of course, in the global context as well, you know.
[07:26.960 -> 07:32.240] And like, for example, I remember Subrata Roy said, for running two teams, do you need
[07:32.240 -> 07:33.800] such a large setup?
[07:33.800 -> 07:36.720] I thought you'll have like a couple of garages doing things.
[07:36.720 -> 07:42.880] And not quote unquote, but you know, within the realm of such ideologies is what people
[07:42.880 -> 07:43.880] came with.
[07:43.880 -> 07:45.680] And Ravi and I were, you know, directly
[07:45.680 -> 07:52.000] involved when the whole force India Sahara merger happened, the buy-in happened, the logos got
[07:52.000 -> 07:57.680] created, you know, and so on. And it was, of course, a nightmare, a great experience for us to
[07:57.680 -> 08:03.600] now bank upon. But at that time, it was a nightmare, because there was on one hand, a boss who was
[08:03.600 -> 08:08.640] focused on, you know, everything that was happening with regards to performance and on the other hand
[08:08.640 -> 08:15.240] there was a man who just wanted all the visibility for you know the company that he was representing.
[08:15.240 -> 08:27.680] Well absolutely and I think if I were to sort of start by summing it up, here was one billionaire boss, co-owner, who was looking for glory on the track
[08:27.680 -> 08:29.120] for the Force India team.
[08:29.120 -> 08:32.040] And here was another billionaire co-owner
[08:32.040 -> 08:34.520] who was looking for personal glory.
[08:34.520 -> 08:35.520] Right?
[08:35.520 -> 08:38.240] And then glory for Sahara as a name.
[08:38.240 -> 08:41.360] And I think this reflected at various levels,
[08:41.360 -> 08:43.840] whether it's the driver overalls
[08:43.840 -> 08:46.080] where the logo had to be of
[08:46.080 -> 08:51.440] a certain size. In fact, so much so Kunal, you would remember, he wanted the name of
[08:51.440 -> 08:53.200] the team to be officially changed. Yes.
[08:54.080 -> 08:57.840] Because it would appear as Force India F1. Right.
[08:57.840 -> 09:01.360] Correct. And he says, why on earth can't we get that
[09:01.360 -> 09:04.640] change to Sahara Force India? And that's the chassis name.
[09:04.640 -> 09:05.280] The chassis name. The chassis name.
[09:05.280 -> 09:10.720] The chassis name, yes. Because like we've seen Lotus-Renault was registered as Renault,
[09:10.720 -> 09:16.640] you know, team Lotus and various things. In fact, that chassis name was a big, you know,
[09:16.640 -> 09:20.880] source of concern for him because the team can be called whatever whatever Force India.
[09:20.880 -> 09:22.720] Aston Martin or Ramco Coulter.
[09:22.720 -> 09:28.320] Yeah, there you go. Yeah. But the chassis name is what he wanted it changed and that involves a buy in from
[09:28.320 -> 09:30.280] various other teams and so on as well.
[09:30.280 -> 09:32.240] And that became a big, big bone of contention.
[09:32.240 -> 09:37.580] In fact, I remember in the build up, the discussion was only about and of course, when I say only
[09:37.580 -> 09:47.440] I am now biased with a memory bias here was how big will the Sahara logo be, right? And whether it was the Force India logo
[09:47.440 -> 09:49.840] turning into a Sahara Force India logo,
[09:49.840 -> 09:52.720] or the logo being visible on the car and so on.
[09:52.720 -> 09:57.680] And the buyout deal included title partnership rights
[09:57.680 -> 09:58.800] with the Saharas, right?
[09:58.800 -> 10:00.440] Because you could have two bosses who will say,
[10:00.440 -> 10:03.080] we'll call on the team, but tell the sponsorship team
[10:03.080 -> 10:08.400] to go and sell title sponsorship, right? You don't have to have Sahara Force India, it could still be called
[10:08.400 -> 10:14.160] Force India and, you know, sell a title sponsorship elsewhere. And the deal, of course, came with
[10:14.160 -> 10:21.040] visibility of the Sahara logo. And I still remember this, I was tasked upon getting a
[10:21.040 -> 10:25.680] livery approval, because every year we were designing liveries.
[10:25.680 -> 10:31.300] And that was a big task of, you know, our team, because we've seen how team livery launches
[10:31.300 -> 10:32.540] and reveals are so big.
[10:32.540 -> 10:35.020] And that's a big talking point in the offseason.
[10:35.020 -> 10:40.160] And I still remember that I was tasked upon getting the livery approved with the sponsor
[10:40.160 -> 10:42.540] logos from Subrata Roy.
[10:42.540 -> 10:46.880] I remember meeting him at the Sahara Hotel in Mumbai, whatever it's
[10:46.880 -> 10:53.840] called now. Sahara Star Hotel in Mumbai. And we had, you know, 3D cutouts of cars and drawings
[10:53.840 -> 10:58.640] and stuff because it's a visual approval that we need. Small question, how further is this away
[10:58.640 -> 11:03.440] from the actual launch? Like what month are we looking at, basically? So I'll put two metrics
[11:03.440 -> 11:08.400] to this. A regular Formula One team is probably a few weeks or a month or two months before.
[11:08.400 -> 11:08.800] Okay.
[11:08.800 -> 11:12.800] For the Force India Formula One team, it was maybe two days before
[11:12.800 -> 11:16.000] or maybe sometimes two hours before.
[11:16.000 -> 11:17.280] And I'm not putting anyone down.
[11:17.280 -> 11:21.600] I'm just saying that was the decision-making metrics.
[11:21.600 -> 11:24.720] You know, the decision-making resistance we used to find
[11:24.720 -> 11:26.720] because one boss, like Ravi said,
[11:26.720 -> 11:30.960] glory on the track, I don't care about a logo. The other boss was saying, if you don't care about it,
[11:30.960 -> 11:36.800] give me the biggest logo. And including making it black. And finally, VJM had to tell him that no,
[11:36.800 -> 11:43.920] no, no, that's a bad omen. We can't have. Yes, we had this Guruji who of course wanted certain
[11:43.920 -> 11:45.880] pant on shades only on the car and
[11:45.880 -> 11:47.320] the logo and the like.
[11:47.320 -> 11:49.760] So it was eventually dark grey.
[11:49.760 -> 11:51.360] And in 2014, they had a black car.
[11:51.360 -> 11:52.360] Yes, yes.
[11:52.360 -> 11:53.360] Yes, absolutely.
[11:53.360 -> 11:56.480] The Guruji must have changed his mind.
[11:56.480 -> 11:59.400] We will continue with the launch story.
[11:59.400 -> 12:00.400] So what happened there?
[12:00.400 -> 12:02.960] So I was tasked saying get this approved.
[12:02.960 -> 12:09.440] And you know, we were looking at a side view of the car, which is what we all see during the launch. And the side parts, as we know, one of the biggest
[12:09.440 -> 12:14.960] aerodynamic elements on the car was curved, as they always are curved. And as a result,
[12:14.960 -> 12:20.560] the Sahara logo was also curved, right? And he looked at everything and, you know,
[12:20.560 -> 12:27.680] made a couple of grumpy faces, if I remember, took a pencil and started drawing on an engineering drawing sheet.
[12:27.680 -> 12:32.320] And he said, make this flat, this being the side part.
[12:32.320 -> 12:35.440] And he said, tell the engineers, make this flat.
[12:35.440 -> 12:39.280] I need the Sahara logo to look proper from the side.
[12:39.280 -> 12:41.200] It can't be this curvy angle thing.
[12:41.760 -> 12:44.800] And I was just thinking to myself, I said, oh my God,
[12:49.240 -> 12:50.720] that is one of the most expensive piece of design that the engineers have worked on
[12:50.720 -> 12:52.760] through the course of the off season.
[12:52.760 -> 12:56.360] And here's one of the bosses saying, make it flat.
[12:56.360 -> 12:59.720] So just cultural differences that sort of came in.
[12:59.720 -> 13:01.320] And you know, contrastingly,
[13:01.320 -> 13:03.240] I have seen VJM sit in discussions
[13:03.240 -> 13:05.040] with Andy Stevenson, sporting director, Otmar, of course, you know, back theningly, I have seen VGM sit in discussions with Andy Stevenson,
[13:05.040 -> 13:09.840] sporting director, Otmar, of course, you know, back then he was deputy team principal.
[13:09.840 -> 13:10.840] He was then COO.
[13:10.840 -> 13:11.840] COO.
[13:11.840 -> 13:13.040] And then, of course, Robert Fearnley.
[13:13.040 -> 13:17.160] And I was sitting, you know, we've sat through conversations where they were literally discussing
[13:17.160 -> 13:18.160] race strategy.
[13:18.160 -> 13:22.680] They were discussing, I remember there was this race when Paul D'Resta qualified in the
[13:22.680 -> 13:25.280] top 10, but half a kilogram of weight
[13:25.280 -> 13:26.580] was less.
[13:26.580 -> 13:33.080] And VJM was able to advise and I'm talking in full sanity, he was able to advise how
[13:33.080 -> 13:37.520] the team should approach and speak to the FI about something going wrong, et cetera,
[13:37.520 -> 13:41.920] which is what came to memory when something similar happened to Sebastian Vettel in 2021
[13:41.920 -> 13:43.320] at one of the races.
[13:43.320 -> 13:48.480] He had a podium in Hungary. So just giving an example of how
[13:48.480 -> 13:56.320] contrastingly different the two bosses were. And we should maybe share some stories of the actual
[13:56.320 -> 14:02.560] announcement of the merger as well, because we knew of the merger happening. The Saharas had
[14:02.560 -> 14:07.480] visited the factory at Northamptonshire several weeks, several months before.
[14:07.480 -> 14:16.760] Logos and stuff were approved, but we were just not told if the contract agreeing on joint ownership was signed.
[14:16.760 -> 14:22.880] And this is when media was actually waiting in a hotel in Delhi, waiting for the official announcement.
[14:22.880 -> 14:23.440] Right?
[14:23.440 -> 14:25.200] We had planned everything, the show cars
[14:25.200 -> 14:31.440] were there, the logo reveals, etc, etc, was all there. But we were like, do we even go ahead with
[14:31.440 -> 14:36.480] the announcement? And I remember at some point in the back of my mind, I was like, what is my
[14:36.480 -> 14:41.200] escape route? Because people of course wouldn't go and ask, you know, them, them being, you know,
[14:41.200 -> 14:46.400] VJM and Subrata Roy, all announcing something. And this was several hours of wait.
[14:46.400 -> 14:48.400] And I was like, okay, anybody being asked,
[14:48.400 -> 14:51.280] it's Ravi and me and then the PR team that,
[14:51.280 -> 14:52.400] you know, we were working with.
[14:52.400 -> 14:54.880] So just culturally so different.
[14:54.880 -> 14:57.360] One didn't want to make a move on the other about,
[14:57.360 -> 14:59.840] you know, who's sort of going to go first and agree.
[14:59.840 -> 15:03.680] And yeah, I think just you guys want to know more about it,
[15:03.680 -> 15:06.800] just ping me because it's going into much depth otherwise.
[15:06.800 -> 15:08.400] That is ridiculous.
[15:08.400 -> 15:11.440] This cultural difference reflected at every point.
[15:11.440 -> 15:15.080] I mean, you know, logos and sideboards at one level.
[15:15.080 -> 15:17.760] Finally, when it was the inaugural Indian GP,
[15:17.760 -> 15:20.800] on one hand, it was, you know, race weekend.
[15:20.800 -> 15:22.200] And it was about, you know,
[15:22.200 -> 15:24.720] trying to get the best performance for one co-owner.
[15:24.720 -> 15:25.160] And for the other co-owner, it was about the Bolly the best performance for one co-owner and for
[15:25.160 -> 15:30.840] the other co-owner it was about the Bollywood glamour and the paddock club and his guests
[15:30.840 -> 15:35.320] whom he was going to invite and I think those four days were perhaps the busiest for us
[15:35.320 -> 15:37.280] ever in October 11.
[15:37.280 -> 15:42.520] I can imagine but speaking of October 11, I saw a picture online that just surfaced
[15:42.520 -> 15:51.720] up on my timeline where Sergio Perez and Kameko Bayashi were doing a puja of their Sauber F1 car. Turns out they were not the only people who did it
[15:52.440 -> 15:54.440] What was that whole about?
[15:55.520 -> 15:57.280] We broke coconuts?
[15:57.280 -> 16:03.760] We had coconuts. There was a colleague of ours TVL, TV Lakshmi Kant and he works out of the UK
[16:04.520 -> 16:07.680] Every race there used to be a coconut ceremony,
[16:07.680 -> 16:11.680] which is of course auspicious in India, it's easy to laugh about it. And you know, everybody brings
[16:11.680 -> 16:16.720] their own superstitions in life, much like several drivers have said, you know, I wear the same
[16:16.720 -> 16:26.480] underpants through the whole weekend, or somebody says I put my left leg in the car before I step in. So one of VGM's, you know, things that, you know, was that
[16:26.480 -> 16:31.520] so superstitions was that a puja or a rite or, you know, some ceremony has to be done
[16:31.520 -> 16:37.600] before the cars go out and race on a Sunday. So various such, you know, quirky moments
[16:37.600 -> 16:42.840] we've sort of had, had in life. And, you know, like Ravi said, there was one boss focused
[16:42.840 -> 16:50.160] on track and the other one was focused so much on the imagery and the whole paddock club, five star, seven star experiences
[16:50.160 -> 16:53.120] that sort of came along with Somal.
[16:53.120 -> 16:54.120] It's ridiculous.
[16:54.120 -> 16:58.080] And just one last thing I have to discuss about them on the glamour side, the Indian
[16:58.080 -> 17:03.240] Empress, the yacht, the one that apparently had the golden washroom, did it not?
[17:03.240 -> 17:06.320] I heard about it. That's one thing I was actually about to ask
[17:06.320 -> 17:11.360] so many people, but hey, that's beyond the point. But just how crazy was it with them at Monaco?
[17:11.360 -> 17:16.000] Because that's like the spiritual home of these billionaires. Just the whole experience of being
[17:16.000 -> 17:32.600] around them and maybe having the chance to conduct a board meeting over there. Was there any work that happened at Monaco at all? So here's interestingly, I, VJM used to organize a season opening and a season closing party
[17:32.600 -> 17:35.440] every year around the Monaco Grand Prix.
[17:35.440 -> 17:40.080] From the time I was there, it was only, you know, one party down from two to one.
[17:40.080 -> 17:48.080] And I used to organize that, you know, along with Kunal and everybody else. So, it was quite fascinating
[17:48.080 -> 17:54.720] because you're sitting here in India and trying to plan a party in Monaco, right? Two, three,
[17:54.720 -> 17:58.400] four months before, with catering happening from England.
[17:59.360 -> 18:00.320] You're kidding me.
[18:00.320 -> 18:07.560] Right? And that one evening of a party, which usually started at 8pm and ended at 4am, would
[18:07.560 -> 18:09.560] cost 120,000 euro.
[18:09.560 -> 18:10.560] What?
[18:10.560 -> 18:11.560] Absolutely.
[18:11.560 -> 18:14.560] That must be pocket change for VJM.
[18:14.560 -> 18:20.760] But that's, I must add, so I never cared about the parties, but I had to, right? I knew that.
[18:20.760 -> 18:26.560] Of course, VJM didn't. So the only year the party really hurt was, I think, 2013,
[18:27.120 -> 18:32.000] when VJM and I wouldn't say VJM, sorry, but Kingfisher Airlines had defaulted
[18:32.560 -> 18:35.280] on making payments or salary payments to employees.
[18:35.280 -> 18:36.880] Oh my God, I can imagine.
[18:36.880 -> 18:41.120] So there was on one hand, you know, he of course defaulted on salary payments,
[18:41.120 -> 18:45.160] but on the other hand, 120 or a thousand euros was spent in a few hours
[18:45.160 -> 18:47.400] just organizing the party.
[18:47.400 -> 18:49.520] And that's when you used to be like, wow,
[18:49.520 -> 18:53.640] this is unfair to all of us or everybody who was impacted
[18:53.640 -> 18:56.280] by whatever was happening at that time.
[18:56.280 -> 18:58.720] Wasn't that the same time where there was this big luxury
[18:58.720 -> 19:01.280] party that happened in Goa and the entire Indian media
[19:01.280 -> 19:03.840] just jumped upon it saying, hey, you're bankrupt,
[19:03.840 -> 19:05.600] but what's going on over here?
[19:05.600 -> 19:07.120] But that's beyond the point, right?
[19:07.120 -> 19:10.080] Let's just close this off on a really fun note.
[19:10.080 -> 19:12.400] If there's just one thing that stands out
[19:12.400 -> 19:14.240] about both Vijay Mallya and Subrata Roy,
[19:14.240 -> 19:15.840] just what would it be about them?
[19:18.600 -> 19:20.720] Bit of a spot question, you can tell this wasn't planned.
[19:20.720 -> 19:26.560] I think flamboyance for Malya.
[19:27.400 -> 19:28.400] And for Subrata?
[19:30.720 -> 19:31.840] One drink too many, maybe?
[19:31.840 -> 19:33.200] Is that the word we're looking for?
[19:34.000 -> 19:35.000] Possibly. Yes.
[19:35.000 -> 19:36.000] Yes.
[19:36.000 -> 19:37.000] What about you, Kunal? What do you reckon?
[19:37.360 -> 19:40.720] I would say with Malya, it was his sharpness.
[19:40.800 -> 19:44.160] You know, I have been in several meetings,
[19:44.400 -> 19:46.740] not related to Formula One as well
[19:46.740 -> 19:47.880] with him.
[19:47.880 -> 19:52.360] And you would know that he would have the pulse of the conversation.
[19:52.360 -> 19:56.780] He would know what question to ask you, even if he didn't know you, even if he didn't know
[19:56.780 -> 19:58.260] what sort of business you were in.
[19:58.260 -> 20:02.340] And to give you an example, Mobile One was the sponsor of the one from a billion hunt
[20:02.340 -> 20:09.520] and the president of operations, literally the guy who probably went on to become the CEO, flew down specifically when we announced the one from
[20:09.520 -> 20:13.760] a billion hunt. We were all in this room and everyone was, how's the weather and how was
[20:13.760 -> 20:20.000] your flight and so on. And VJM comes and asks him one hard question about the business. Of course,
[20:20.000 -> 20:30.000] I don't remember the question, but I was like, oh my God, this man has just walked in. No niceties, no pleasantries, nothing. Straight one question, you know, about Mobile One's
[20:30.000 -> 20:34.000] business. And, you know, I could sense that the guest that was there during the announcement
[20:34.000 -> 20:39.280] was also like smartly taken aback. And like, you just put Ravi and me in the spot asking about,
[20:39.280 -> 20:48.840] you know, the one thing. So his sharpness really stood out for me. And for Subhroth Roy, it's actually tough to pinpoint one adjective,
[20:48.840 -> 20:51.280] but it was probably scattered, if that's the word.
[20:51.280 -> 20:56.080] Again, nothing personal, I have great memories, fun memories,
[20:56.080 -> 20:58.840] funny memories, like I said, of him and his team.
[20:58.840 -> 21:03.080] But just doing too many things at the same time and
[21:03.080 -> 21:09.940] not really having the focus on it, And that probably just impacted what was, I think it started off as a great dream run
[21:09.940 -> 21:17.360] because like I said, two of the biggest private investors in sport and the way it could have
[21:17.360 -> 21:18.360] been.
[21:18.360 -> 21:21.440] And I remember there was a time there was a listing of UV sports that was being discussed
[21:21.440 -> 21:31.680] because there were so many sporting entities and stuff. So what could have been is always, you know, going to be a question. But we were definitely more hopeful
[21:31.680 -> 21:35.840] than sitting in a studio talking about the memories of how those times were.
[21:36.560 -> 21:41.200] That's so true. But seriously, what could have been? Well, that's a question we leave you guys
[21:41.200 -> 21:45.120] on. Ravi, thank you so much for taking all the time to join us here today.
[21:45.120 -> 21:47.160] It's been amazing having you on
[21:47.160 -> 21:48.920] for the course of the last three episodes.
[21:48.920 -> 21:50.320] Really loved it.
[21:50.320 -> 21:51.160] Thank you.
[21:51.160 -> 21:53.680] And it's been very humbling for me to be on this show.
[21:53.680 -> 21:55.560] Thank you very much, Somil and Kunal.
[21:55.560 -> 21:56.400] Thank you.
[21:56.400 -> 21:57.220] Thank you guys.
[21:57.220 -> 22:01.000] And thank you, Somil, for being an ever-pleasant host
[22:01.000 -> 22:03.080] and bringing out all these memories
[22:03.080 -> 22:05.720] that we're gonna live with for the rest of time.
[22:05.720 -> 22:09.520] Well, it's so much fun to do this, right? But folks, I hope that you had fun listening
[22:09.520 -> 22:13.620] to these episodes. And I say these because there are two other episodes that you must
[22:13.620 -> 22:18.320] listen to before this. Well, in case you like them, leave a good rating on them, subscribe
[22:18.320 -> 22:21.760] to the podcast, share this with your friends and family members. I don't have to tell you
[22:21.760 -> 22:28.560] all this stuff. You've been on the internet for 10 years or more. Do that good stuff and see you for another few sets of episodes and also
[22:28.560 -> 22:32.880] a regular season coverage for the Formula One 2022 F1 season. See you folks. Thank you
[22:32.880 -> None] for watching. Thank you for listening. Bye bye. you