[FourWheelDrift]

Source : Narain Karthikeyan back in F1!



Narain Karthikeyan back in F1!

6 January 2011



Narain Karthikeyan, India’s first Formula 1 driver, popularly known as the fastest Indian in the world has given Indian motorsport fans a big reason to cheer. Narain is back in Formula 1 after a five year hiatus and is all charged up to compete at the pinnacle of world motor sport.

Narain will make his F1 comeback with the Hispania Racing Team (HRT) as a race driver for the 2011 Formula 1 season and is looking forward to fulfilling his dream of being an Indian driver on the grid of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix. This will be a historic moment for Indian motor sport and an elated Narain said. “I have worked really hard to come back to F1 and it will be a dream come true to race in front of the home crowd in our country’s debut Grand Prix. I hope that the Indian public will spur me on with their blessings and good wishes."

The Tata Group and especially Tata Motors have played a pivotal role in ensuring Narain's return to a full-time Formula 1 race drive. Tata’s support for Narain in 2011 will extend
into technology a partnership with HRT. The Dr. Colin Kolles led Formula 1 team will have will have access to Tata Motors' world-class Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) facilities to help develop the aerodynamics of the HRT car over the course of the 2011 Formula 1
season.

Narain Karthikeyan said. "It's been a while in the making, but I am delighted to be racing again in Formula 1 in 2011. I have always maintained that I have not given up on my desire to return to the top level of motor sport. I am confident that I have the pace, the fitness and the will to succeed in Formula 1. I am extremely grateful to the Tata Group, without whose unwavering support, this comeback would not have been possible. I'm looking forward to racing for HRT, and to working again with Dr. Colin Kolles. We have a long standing and excellent working relationship together”

Narain’s inaugural F1 season in 2005 gave a big boost to the popularity of the sport in India. With Narain’s comeback for the 2011 season and the prospect of having an Indian driver on the grid of the Indian Grand Prix, the interest and fan following in Formula 1 is poised to hit an all time high.

[pranavt]

No other source apart from Autocar India?

Hopefully he is sacked after the first race.

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by pranavt

No other source apart from Autocar India?

Hopefully he is sacked after the first race.

Why such negaholism before engine start?

[FourWheelDrift]

Now in TOI too ...

Please see Narain Karthikeyan back in Formula One circuit - The Times of India

[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!

[SchumiFan]

Autosport confirms the news. But no info from HRT themselves. Announcement could come on Friday.
autosport.com - F1 News: Karthikeyan signs race deal with HRT

[Gansan]

I like him very much. Is this news confirmed? And if it happens, want to bet which team will have the crowd support - his or Force Kingfisher?

[aman9393]

Well the news has itself been confirmed by Narain on his twitter account!!:-)

[maddy42]

He deserves a chance. Come on.

Best of luck Narain. My best wishes is with you

[kraft.wagen]

Narain has tweeted that he is racing for HRT.

narainracing Back in F1 in 2011. Signed a deal to race for HRT. I've always maintained that my time in F1 was not over & now making good on that promise

This is fantastic news

[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.

[v.anand]

^^Its the reality of the sport @pranavt, and nothing to feel ashamed of. If somebody like Mark Webber who led the most of last season had to struggle during his initial years to keep his place money-wise initially, not a big deal for NK even. IIRC, Webber floated a company in his name and made a public issue in Australia, to keep the money coffers running while driving for Minardi (or was it a different team?). Alex Yoong was backed by Malaysian government, and the list continues. That fact doesn't determine the quality of the driver in an expensive sport such as F1.

IMO, if there is one deserving Indian driver to be part of F1, its got to be NK more than anyone else. He's got the achievements and inspired and promoted motor-sport in a country like India like none other.

All NK needed 5 years back was a drive at any of the top teams to show his skills, need to see how his performances are at present because 5 years is a long time in F1. Another big draw-back is HRT is yet another back-marker team, atleast to begin with, this season.

[Shan2nu]

F1 is a kind of sport where you can't actually judge a driver based his performance alone.

There's only one way of settling this....

YouTube - F1 1984 Mercedes 190 Nurburgring Race

Shan2nu

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by pranavt

No other source apart from Autocar India?

Hope you are satisfied with the sources now.

Originally Posted by pranavt

Hopefully he is sacked after the first race.

It's perfectly fair to have an opinion about his driving skills, and entirely another to wish for his sacking. I also think that this isn't in good taste.

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.

It's good that Tata sponsored him. Be under no illusion, a lot of drivers (some of them were pretty good) came in to F1 because of a company paying an F1 team megabucks. F1 remains a very expensive sport and in India, motorsports never got that kind of financial support from the industry, until this happened.

[pranavt]

Originally Posted by v.anand

All NK needed 5 years back was a drive at any of the top teams to show his skills, need to see how his performances are at present because 5 years is a long time in F1. Another big draw-back is HRT is yet another back-marker team, atleast to begin with, this season.

People like Raikkonen (Sauber), Webber (Minardi), Alonso (Minardi), Schumacher (Jordan), Vettel (Torro Rosso), Senna (Toleman, compare his results with the rest of the results of the team) and almost everyone else made their mark in a small low-budget team with a dog of a car. Few apart from Hamilton, Montoya, Villeneuve and a couple more have directly landed in a race-winning car. If the F1 teams, who do actually know more than the Indian press, thought that he deserved a seat, he would've had one.

Originally Posted by Amartya

Hope you are satisfied with the sources now.

No need to get agitated over the need for proof from another source. The international press hadn't picked up this piece of news, which is why I was curious. And yes, I am satisfied; thank you for the concern.

It's perfectly fair to have an opinion about his driving skills, and entirely another to wish for his sacking. I also think that this isn't in good taste.

It's good that Tata sponsored him. Be under no illusion, a lot of drivers (some of them were pretty good) came in to F1 because of a company paying an F1 team megabucks. F1 remains a very expensive sport and in India, motorsports never got that kind of financial support from the industry, until this happened.

Tata could've sponsored Chandhok, who actually didn't get a proper chance to show his skills, unlike Karthikeyan who managed to crash and destroy his car on a straight in his final GP for Jordan. And a driver who has actually been driving Formula 1 cars recently, unlike Karthikeyan who has been racing trucks. Another country famous for pay-drivers is Japan, who have almost always been sponsored by Honda or Toyota. Barring a couple of moderately-good drivers and an upcoming star, the rest of the pack has been below standard. All it ends up doing is create a negative stereotype about the particular country's drivers.