Karthikeyan confirmed for Indian GP

HRT F1 team has announced that Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan will be back in the cockpit during Friday’s first practice session at the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix. He will be driving at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix scheduled for 28-30 October.

Karthikeyan will be back in the thick of the action as he gets behind the wheel of the HRT F111 F1 car during Friday’s first free practice session at the challenging 5.073-km Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore – the only night race on the Formula 1 calendar.

HRT Team Principal Colin Kolles commented: “It is great to have Narain back in the car as it will give him critical seat time before he drives at the Indian GP. He is the best driver to come out of the region and is undoubtedly extremely talented as he has proved through his progress this season”.

Narain Karthikeyan is expectedly delighted at the prospect of returning behind the wheel. "Of course it’s a great feeling to be driving on a Grand Prix weekend once again, and on the subject of my home Grand Prix of India, the team had assured me that I’d be driving when I stepped out of my seat after the European GP. The Singapore circuit will definitely be a challenge as it is new to me so I’ll have to get to grips with it fairly quickly. From what I know, it is a very demanding race physically, not only because of the temperatures and humidity but also being a high-speed street circuit it is extremely bumpy. Like any other street circuit, grip builds up through the weekend and car-setup will have to be constantly evolved to get the best out of it. Overall, it is a great place to return to race proceedings, and will go a long way to get me back in the rhythm for the Indian GP. Also my sincere thanks to my ever faithful sponsor the Tata Group, and recent su pport from both Hero Motors and Base batteries".