New Delhi: "Welcome to the gang." Coming from the matchless Michael Schumacher, these generous words sweetened Karun Chandhok's F1 debut in Bahrain but looking ahead, India's newest Formula One driver reckons a jerky ride awaits him this season.
It was indeed a series of lucky coincidences that gave
India its second Formula One driver and things fell in place
one after another to facilitate Karun's graduation from GP2 to
F1.
His team Hispania, grappling with finance crunch, put
together a car just ahead of the season-opener in Bahrain and
was accommodated in the starting grid without any pre-season
testing.
Accordingly, Karun finally followed in Narain
Karthikeyan's footsteps and became what he had dreamt all his
life. And things could not get headier as he was welcomed by
none other than seven-time world champion Schumacher.
"I met him in the drivers' parade and it was very nice of
him to come to me and introduce himself. He said 'hello' to me
and then said 'welcome to the gang'. I talked to him briefly,
along with (reigning world champion) Jenson (Button)," Karun said.
Schumacher himself is making a comeback this year with
Mercedes and Karun felt this was just what the sport needed.
"His comeback is great for Formula One. It suddenly
brought back whole lot of F1 viewers who had gone missing,"
the Chennai driver said.
"Every sport needs superstars. You need Sachin Tendulkar,
Roger Federer and Lance Armstrong. I feel despite all that has
happened, golf badly needs a Tiger Woods," he elaborated.
Talking about personal goals and targets this year, the
26-year-old third generation driver from a well-known family
of motorsport enthusiasts looked careworn.
"I would like to establish myself as a credible,
respected F1 driver. It's difficult to make an impression with
a team which itself is not established but I have to make an
impression in the paddock. I have to make an impression with
the people who matter and who can open new doors for me,"
Karun said.
From the team's perspective, Karun said to become the
best of the rookie outfits would be a creditable result.
"By the time we reach the middle of the season, the fight
is to become the best of the new teams and to finish the
season as the best new team. That would be a strong effort,"
he reckoned.
Karun did not look sore about the deal with Force India
that always did the rounds but never materialised and said
it's always better to be a race driver than a test driver.
"It would have been nice to have an Indian driver in an
Indian team and if it happens in future, it would be nice for
the country," Karun said.
"I'm happy Hispania gave me a chance to race. I have
nothing personal against Vijay (Mallya). It's his team, his
business. He had contracts with both his drivers and he chose
to honour that.
"They already had two drivers, so maybe the test driver
was all they could offer. After the new regulations came into
being, it's always better to be a race driver than a test
driver," he reasoned.
Asked what was the most thrilling moment of his nascent
F1 career, Karun said having the first look at his Dallara
car.
"The most thrilling moment was when I saw the car Dallara
had made for me. Of course I had signed the contract before
that and saw my name on the paper but to see my car and make
my seat sent thrills down my spine," he gushed.
PTI
First Published: Monday, March 22, 2010, 13:09