Life must go on, says Mallya

Mallya admitted the inability to travel due to his passport being revoked by the Indian government is "frustrating"

Embattled Indian business tycoon Vijay Mallya, on Friday said that “life must go on” as he made a rare public appearance on the Formula 1 racing track here.

The UB Group chairman, who co-owns Sahara Force India, was here for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone in Northamptonshire, in the East Midlands region of England.

“I love racing, I’m a petrolhead, I’m passionate about it, that’s why I bought this team in the first place. Monaco I missed terribly, I missed the bonus of the podium in Monaco, I missed Baku, which I believe is fantastic. To that extent I’d be lying if I said I missed nothing,” he said.

“Having said life must go on, and being based here and not travelling, I have more time to devote to what I want to. Working out six days a week so I shed a few kilos so that I feel good and fit,” he told motorsport.com.

The liquor baron admitted the inability to travel due to his passport being revoked by the Indian government is frustrating.

“But equally, it isn't the end of the world. England has always been a home to me, I’ve been a resident here with leave to remain indefinitely since 1992, so I am very familiar with it. It isn't as if I am in some sort of alien land.”

“Fourth is the target, we’ll do everything we can to get there. The finances of the team have vastly improved, and in fact have improved year-on-year. It doesn’t cost the shareholders what it did five or six years ago,” he said.

Force India have 59 points while Williams are fourth with 92 points.