[FERRO]

Congrats to NK !!

Tata did right thing by purchasing a seat for NK since we are going to host Indian GP soon, I guess only 2 Indians got F1 license so its either Chandok or NK. They picked NK since he has got good relations with them past many years.

Hope he can perform some magic and atleast bring the car in points.

[Mpower]

Here's wishing NK all the very best. He's done good by racing whatever he gets an staying in shape.

ALSO FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE WORLD: driver from NASCAR/truck series to make it to F1.

[prashanth_benz]

@Pranav : Its not just hispania buddy. Show up with a really big wallet and you'd be surprised at the number of teams opening their doors to welcome you. And it is a well known and established fact*atleast around the international pits* that you need to have more cash than talent to get a seat in F1. And those were the exact same lines told to me by the owner of team Meritus who race formula BMW's and GP2 cars when I approached him for a season of Formula BMW.. Sad but true fact of motorsports !! Cheers!

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by pranavt

By that logic, Karthikeyan was faster than Schumacher and Rosberg, considering this year's performances.

,got quite the sense of humour.

Originally Posted by pranavt

Nothing to plan. You show up 3 days before a race with a huge sum of money and one of the existing drivers will mysteriously have an upset stomach or some other random health complaint. HRT is nothing more than a very expensive track-day car rental service.

Don't know about the existing drivers, but someone sure can't digest Narain's comeback to F1. That being said, HRT might be a track-day rental car service, but in this case, an Indian is in the rental car (which is still an F1 car) and an Indian company has raised the money.
That along with the Indian GP being around the corner, motorsports in India would prosper.

[pranavt]

Originally Posted by Amartya

Don't know about the existing drivers, but someone sure can't digest Narain's comeback to F1. That being said, HRT might be a track-day rental car service, but in this case, an Indian is in the rental car (which is still an F1 car) and an Indian company has raised the money.

Yeah, quite the achievement.

[amitku]

Originally Posted by anachronix

The news should actually be read like this "Narain Karthikeyan signs HRT for his F1 seat in 2011"!

I like this statement. Feels proud that India has 2 F1 Teams.

Good Progress for India in F1

2005 - Indian F1 driver - NK for Jordan, points in the controversial US GP.
2006 - Indian F1 test driver - NK for Williams
2007 - Indian F1 Team - Force India after VJM buys Spyker F1
2008 - Indian owned team Force India cars on the grid
2009 - First Points, First podium, First fastest lap
2010 - Indian F1 driver - KC for HRT, Force India seventh in constructors
2011 - Indian F1 Race, Indian F1 driver - NK again

Great going India.

[chinoy]

We have an Indian on the Grid.
Good story over.

What I would really like to see is our young drivers and fresh talent to get a chance.
The sponsors should have a shoot out and pick the best Indian driver.

[sujaylahiri]

Aside from Formula 1 and NASCAR Truck Series, NK has also had some good stints at A1GP and LeMans 24 Hours where he was the first Indian driver ever to participate and his car was 7th overall. So let's not write him off just yet. Here's the link on Formula1's website with a few more details.

Formula 1


You guys should also keep in mind that Force India still haven't chosen any of their drivers for 2011, so maybe Chandhok might still have a chance this year.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by Cyrus43

Narain is a fabulous driver. I have enjoyed every single second I have been with him and his driving skills are par excellence. And he is quite the funny chap too. ohh and he loves going sideways!

Yeah, he told me that you were throwing up every time he drove over 60 kmph on a straight. And yes, you were a super funny chappie too whenever you did not throw up.

Originally Posted by pranavt

Hahaha, there's the 107% rule coming in this year. How many bucks gets you a race seat at HRT? It's obvious he's got in because of Tata's money.

Very true. Hope TATA's start looking out for the talent that you represent.

Originally Posted by 2theMax

I would not even in my insane sense would hope that somebody's ride breaks down,leave alone getting sacked..uh that's gross.

Well said. Not even my M-I-L's leave alone pranavt's.

Originally Posted by pranavt

Yeah, quite the achievement.

Yep, it is. At least someone has got off the keyboard and shown themselves to the world.

Originally Posted by amitku

I like this statement. Feels proud that India has 2 F1 Teams.

Good Progress for India in F1

2005 - Indian F1 driver - NK for Jordan, points in the controversial US GP.
2006 - Indian F1 test driver - NK for Williams
2007 - Indian F1 Team - Force India after VJM buys Spyker F1
2008 - Indian owned team Force India cars on the grid
2009 - First Points, First podium, First fastest lap
2010 - Indian F1 driver - KC for HRT, Force India seventh in constructors
2011 - Indian F1 Race, Indian F1 driver - NK again

Great going India.

That should be the spirit for any true blooded INDIAN. Thank you amitku.

Yep, money involved, where isn't it ? At least we have India on the F1 map because of Mallya's money, couple of drivers who can sit and drive a F1 car and TATA's money. Just what is wrong with that ? I wonder what we will be happy with. Forget it, there is not going to be a tendulkar in F1 India for a very very long time. This is just a start.

[FourWheelDrift]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Forget it, there is not going to be a tendulkar in F1 India for a very very long time. This is just a start.

That's not the way VJM thinks ...

Source : Mallya to launch young Indian driver programme - GPUpdate.net

“Let’s be clear - motorsport is not that advanced in India for a variety of reasons, to throw up drivers who would ultimately reach Formula 1,” Vijay said in Valencia. “We have drivers - Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandhok and a couple of others, Armaan (Ebrahim, Formula 2), and there’s a boy called Patel - they’re talented drivers.

“Now I must decide whether they suit my requirements in Force India Formula 1 or not. I have been very fair; I’ve given at least one of them the opportunity in the driving simulator and I put four drivers in and selected the best one of the lot, which happened to be (Scot) Paul di Resta, so it isn’t as if I’ve got a shut mind here.

“But I’ve got to start looking for somebody really young and, as I have said to you and to many others before, amongst 1.2 billion people there’s got to be a Lewis Hamilton somewhere.”

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by FourWheelDrift

“But I’ve got to start looking for somebody really young and, as I have said to you and to many others before, amongst 1.2 billion people there’s got to be a Lewis Hamilton somewhere.”

Very true, we have to start looking. If we don't play the game, how will we know ? If India was not playing test cricket, would we have unearthed Tendulkar ?

[avi550m]

Why can't we just give credit to the guy that he was the first Indian to make it into F1, through whichever means possible, and that kind of kick started some more interest in the business community and also the Indian fans about Formula 1? After his season (however poor it may have been), we had Force India come in, and Karun Chandok got a race seat last year.

Yeah, he isn't the best driver, nor is HRT a great race team, but the effort to find the next Hamilton in India would not have started had he not put the first few steps and opened the gates for the other efforts to follow (Force India, Chandok). And don't forget, it took McLaren about 13 years to groom Hamilton for a race seat. So don't count on a world championship winning Indian driver for some time.

[anachronix]

Originally Posted by amitku

I like this statement. Feels proud that India has 2 F1 Teams.

You probably misunderstood my comment. I wanted to highlight the sad state of F1! Narain would be better at Nascar rather than driving the F1's official rent-a-car service!

Originally Posted by avi550m

Why can't we just give credit to the guy that he was the first Indian to make it into F1, through whichever means possible, and that kind of kick started some more interest in the business community and also the Indian fans about Formula 1? After his season (however poor it may have been), we had Force India come in, and Karun Chandok got a race seat last year.

Credit for what? All the credit he deserved was given to him when he became the first indian driver to be in F1. This time though it was all about successfully finding someone to sponsor him a seat in F1. There is a difference between earning it & buying it!

I am sure you are hearing all this noise from true F1 fans. Reason, a talented 23 year old fresh talent like Hulkenberg doesnt have a confirmed seat yet while a 33 year old truck racer who was not connected with F1 in any way nearly 5 years gets a chance. The difference one wanted to earn it while the other wanted to buy it.

I find no reason to be patriotic here, but that doesnt mean I am not patriotic!

Yeah, he isn't the best driver, nor is HRT a great race team, but the effort to find the next Hamilton in India would not have started had he not put the first few steps and opened the gates for the other efforts to follow (Force India, Chandok). And don't forget, it took McLaren about 13 years to groom Hamilton for a race seat. So don't count on a world championship winning Indian driver for some time.

True! He opened the gates in F1 for India. Kudos to him for that!

There are much better drivers in India than NK & KC who are yet to find the ability to find the source to buy a seat in F1. I am sure NK & KC has much better contacts in Indian Motorsport clubs than the young chaps who are fighting it out in F2 and other euro series!

[good.car-ma]

People its a sad truth that nowadays pay drivers are the norm. So instead of cursing and wishing ill luck let us:

1. Hope Narain does decently and puts in creditable performances although HRT dont look promising

2. Hope Karun gets a race seat as well, or atleast a third driver role at a bigger team that will put him in the cockpit soon

3. Support Force India and NK and anyone else who represents India in the F1 field - personal favourites like McLaren or Ferrari apart. Even if you dont support them, lets not degrade them. It has taken a hge effort on everyone's part to get where they hav considering the opportunities available in India and they are doing their part to ease the path for future aspirants

4. Turn out in numbers, show the love and make the Indian GP a permanent fixture on the F1 calendar.

Bring on 2011!!

[polopm]

Originally Posted by good.car-ma

People its a sad truth that nowadays pay drivers are the norm. So instead of cursing and wishing ill luck let us:

1. Hope Narain does decently and puts in creditable performances although HRT dont look promising

2. Hope Karun gets a race seat as well, or atleast a third driver role at a bigger team that will put him in the cockpit soon

3. Support Force India and NK and anyone else who represents India in the F1 field - personal favourites like McLaren or Ferrari apart. Even if you dont support them, lets not degrade them. It has taken a hge effort on everyone's part to get where they hav considering the opportunities available in India and they are doing their part to ease the path for future aspirants

4. Turn out in numbers, show the love and make the Indian GP a permanent fixture on the F1 calendar.

Bring on 2011!!

Amen !
F1 Fans are quite vocal in slamming NK. He is a nice bloke, a true blood racer who races. Tried to do many things with the Jordan car, which we know was quite crappy.
HRT - I hope they use the Dallara Chassis well else relegation will be the norm due to 107% rule.
I think Karun handled the media bit very well and gives good sound-bites.
The most important bit in the HRT concoction is the bonhomie between Collin Kolles & NK. They have worked together for a really long time. The moment Collin came aboard he would get his way - getting his guys. So it is possible to have Luizzi to come to his fold from FI. Mallya should be more than happy to get rid of him.
Karun is now trying for the tester role in Team Lotus. A long term future will definitely help. Jarno Trulli will be out at end of '11. With his connections to Bernie, I think Karun will push himself into Lotus.
Money talks loud and we can hear loud & clear and not whispers. Probably not morally right, but we are in Kaliyug, so that’s ok !
Guys, All eez well !!!