F1 comes to India, first race on Oct 30, 2011

Paris: India will get its inaugural Formula 1 race on October 30, 2011 after the sport's governing body - International Automobile Federation (FIA) - on Wednesday decided to have a record 20 races next year.

The Indian Grand Prix will take place as soon as October next year if the circuit being built near the national capital - New Delhi - gets completed and passes the final inspection before the scheduled time.

The decision was made public after a meeting of world motor sport council on Wednesday.

With the newly-added Indian GP, the number of races in formula one in a given year will reach to record 20.

The governing body said that the 2011 season will start in Bahrain on March 13 and end in Brazil on Nov. 27 with Abu Dhabi becoming the penultimate race on Nov. 13.

The FIA also said in a statement that no new team would join the series next season because none of the candidates met the requirements for entry.

Sport's apex body said a number of parties had expressed an interest but "it was considered that none of the candidates met the requirements to be granted an entry into the championship. "Consequently, the allocation of the 13th team will not be granted."

Many of the expected main contenders had already withdrawn for financial reasons but Spanish-based Epsilon Euzkadi and a joint effort involving Italy's Durango and Canada's former world champion Jacques Villeneuve had remained in the running.

Cost cutting measures have further reduced the number of staff attending races, while some test teams have been disbanded due to the ban on testing during the season.

The world motor sport council also announced steps to enable the governing body to punish Formula One drivers and other competitors in FIA series who commit motoring offences on public roads.

McLaren's 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton was fined A0 (8.7) after being stopped by police for reckless driving in a Melbourne street at this year's Australian Grand Prix.

"Competitors at FIA events must act as ambassadors for the sport, be aware their conduct on the road must be exemplary and respect road safety rules,"declared the FIA statement.

(With inputs from Reuters)