Formula 1: Narain Karthikeyan rejected HRT offer in 2010
Narain Karthikeyan became the first Indian driver in the history of Formula 1 after he took part in the 2005 Formula 1 season with Team Jordan. He had an extremely disappointing debut season and had to leave the team the following year. However, he joined
Williams as their test driver for 2006 and 2007 before leaving the sport for good.
In 2010, the Indian fans saw a light of hope as Karun Chandhok decided to join Hispania Racing Team for the 2010 Formula 1 season and became the second Indian driver after Narain to race in Formula 1. He was unable to secure a single point and the Indian
fans were left disappointed once again.
But it seems that since India has been a part of the sport for the last few years quite actively, Bernie Ecclestone and the International Automobile Federation (FIA) decided to take Formula 1 to the country and as a result, India is expected to host a Formula
1 race in the 2011 Formula 1 season.
After listening to this news, Narain Karthikeyan stated that he would love to be a part of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix this year and his wish came true recently as he joined HRT for the 2011 season.
However, the Indian driver also revealed that he was in talks with HRT for the 2010 season as well but he turned it down because he thought that the team was relatively new.
“I've been in discussion with HRT for a long time. Originally we had discussed the possibility of me driving for them in 2010, but I felt that it was not the opportunity I was looking for at that time, as the team was new in F1, and still an unproven one,”
he said.
Narain has a heavy financial backing from an Indian car company “Tata” and it seems that he will take this sponsor with him to the team. He might race alongside his fellow countryman Karun Chandhok but it has not been confirmed yet.
“For the 2011 season HRT have expanded their own resources, and have established some strong technical partnerships,” said Narain.
According to a report, the team is going to use an upgraded version of its 2010 Dallara chassis along with Williams’ gearboxes. It is expected that with these upgrades, HRT will perform better in 2011.
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