Narain Karthikeyan hoping for a return to Formula One
Narain Karthikeyan became the first Indian driver to compete in Formula One when he signed with Jordan in 2005 but was unable to prove anything as he had terrible qualifying sessions and struggled to compete against his teammate
at times. Narain left Formula One the following year after a full season and it seemed that he might not return.
However, after 5 years, India produced another driver and this time it was Karun Chandhok who drove for HRT for most of the 2010 F1 season. Karun seems more promising than Narain was when he joined the sport even though Chandhok
was unable to score a single point.
Narain tested Force India’s simulator after the grand finale in Abu Dhabi and he believes that he might enter the sport again. Karthikeyan ruled out the rumours about him testing for Force India, a sign of him trying to come to
an agreement with Force India for the 2011 Formula One season.
“I did go for a simulator test but that's all that happened. I'm not willing to comment on what happened during and after the tests. I think you should talk to (Vijay) Mallya about the results and my performance,” said Karthikeyan.
According to the FIA’s driver’s report for 2011, Force India is yet to decide both of its drivers for 2011 officially. According to some rumours, Adrian Sutil is more likely to keep his seat in the team than Vitantonio Liuzzi.
Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta are also potential competitors for the spot and it seems that Narain’s chances are not as high as Nico Hulkenberg’s, as the German driver was able to score a pole position with a team like Williams this year which was clearly
not a pole position taking team in 2010.
However, many believe that Force India might sign an Indian driver in order to gain more publicity since the 2011 Formula One season is expected to hold the first ever Indian Grand Prix.
“I'm looking forward to it. Every driver would like to be in the inaugural race,” said Narain.
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