Rival Bharti airtel may have walked away with the title sponsorship but telecom giant Vodafone remains upbeat on opportunities brought by the Indian edition of the Formula1 race for its subscribers to connect with the race.

The company has undertaken a slew of initiatives to help subscribers connect with the teams and to experience the race at a closer level.

"We have been associated with McLaren Mercedes team since 2007 and the partnership has helped us bring not just the race but the team closer to our subscribers.

"Even with the Indian edition, we have undertaken two initiatives which have engaged fans and helped them become a part of the F1 experience," Vodafone Essar Vice-President (Marketing) Anuradha Aggarwal told PTI.

The race in India, which will be the 17th in the Formula One World Championship, will be called the ''Airtel Grand Prix of India', following Bharti airtel's tie-up with the Formula One Group Companies.