Gill snubs Mallya, calls F1 expensive entertainment

Force India getting its maiden Formula One points has done little to change M S Gill's disdain for motor-racing with the Sports Minister on Monday sticking to his stand and describing the event as an "expensive entertainment".

Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella finished second at the Belgian Grand Prix, fetching the team's maiden F1 points.

The team's jubilant owner Vijay Mallya questioned the Sports Ministry's stand against Formula One, saying, "How can they say that Formula One is not sport?"

"When hundreds of millions of people worldwide follow it as a sport, what makes them believe otherwise?" a miffed Mallya said.

But Gill snubbed Mallya, insisting that it was technology and not any sporting skill that determines the outcome of Formula One races.

"I congratulate them for their efforts but our view has been known for the past many many months. Formula One is the most expensive entertainment even in the west," Gill said.

"The technology they use is far beyond anything here. So, our view is clear that we are focussed on promoting sports and that's how it should be. The rest, it's a free country, what they want to do here is their business," he added.