A year or so ago, when asked about prospective races that were to be added to the F1 calendar, Bernie Ecclestone smiled and talked of; "a country where they eat a lot of rice".

Lo and behold, in just a couple of months, China will host its first ever Formula One Grand Prix, even if behind the scenes, things are not going quite as smoothly as first envisaged.

The F1 supremo had also hoped that the home of Vindaloo and Madras curry, might soon host a round of the Formula One World Championship, but that dream appears to be on the back burner.

According to the Times of India, there is nobody prepared to organize such an event.

"The government has not received any formal proposal from the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) for organizing F1 racing," said Sports Minister Sunil Dutt.

"The FMSCI has informed the Andhra Pradesh government that it does not wish to pursue the plans to bring F1 racing to the state. But the Centre has got no official information in this regard," he added.

Andhra Pradesh emerged as the front-runner to host the event following a meeting between Ecclestone and former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in milan last year. Subsequently, there were reports that Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde was equally keen on hosting the event in his state.

However, Dutt has now revealed that "no intimation has been received by the Centre from Maharashtra and Andhra about their interest in organizing the race."