HRT team announced that Narain Karthikeyan, Indian F1 driver, would take part in the inaugural Indian GP in Delhi and also confirmed his participation in next week’s practice sessions at Singapore GP.
Collin Kolles, HRT boss, told it was great to see Karthikeyan back on the car and thought the practice sessions at Singtel would give him optimal race time before driving in the Delhi Indian GP in October.
Kolles praised Karthikeyan saying he was indeed a great driver from India and was extremely talented. This certainly was aimed at taunting Karun Chandhok, another driver racing for Team Lotus this season who was in HRT last season. At this point, it is hopeful Karun would be racing in Delhi.
Narain Karthikeyan was earlier taken down in July awarding a race place to Aussie Daniel Ricciardo, but now since his place is confirmed, he said he was happy to race both the practice sessions at Singtel and also in the Indian GP.
Karthikeyan had earlier commented on racing in Delhi, but since the HRT team hasn’t scored a single point yet from the time of their debut which was the previous season, things were not confirmed until Saturday when the team’s boss announced Narain’s participation in Singtel practice sessions and the upcoming GP of India.
Karthikeyan told he was excited about the prospect of racing for HRT and was glad to be back, and about racing in the home GP in Delhi, he spoke about the team assuring him a berth after he’d stepped out of the GP in Europe.
The Indian GP would be exciting for Indian F1 fans to have a glimpse of the world’s most technically advanced cars roaring to their might in the paddocks. It’s all about timing and driving skills coupled with the best engineers by one’s side that aims to develop a perfect monster of a car. With Amber Lounge parties lighting up the spirits for parties and a Metallica concert for rock fans, the race is sure to enthral the crowd with Red Bull Racing in a strong position this season for snatching both the constructors’ and drivers’ titles.
The Delhi GP would be a new track for all the drivers, pretty challenging and is expected to be a thriller with minor changes made to the track for high-speed action from a spectators’ viewpoint, which was stressed before designing the track. With confirmation of Karthikeyan driving the HRT car, we expect Karun to be racing too with Team Lotus, probably making way for Karun by dropping Trulli at least for the Delhi home GP. It’s not practical to expect Karthikeyan to win the race in Delhi, but given that he has a chance to race in front of the home crowd should be lifting his spirits to get some points aboard for HRT.
The Indian GP is an eye opener for many aspiring drivers who dream of driving an F1 car one day, and the country certainly has the capacity to produce many more given appropriate facilities for racing while promoting events equally well too. It also ups the learning curve from an organiser’s standpoint. With good back up from leading hospitals in case of any mishap, safety guidelines topping the FIA list and Indian GP promising to adhere to strict guidelines, we can expect a cracker of an event in Delhi.