Karthikeyan anticipating historic moment

HRT driver Narain Karthikeyan has admitted he is looking forward to what will be an “historic moment” when he becomes the first Indian driver to race in Formula One on home soil this weekend.

Karthikeyan has been handed a race seat at the new Buddh International Circuit in Delhi ahead of regular driver Vitantonio Liuzzi and despite the pressures on him as the only Indian driver pencilled in to race, Karthikeyan said he would just try to enjoy himself this weekend, with his main target being just to finish the grand prix.

“The realistic thing with our car is to possibly finish the race and beat your team-mate,” he said. “If you do that, I think at the moment, we can’t expect much more. It is an historic and symbolic moment that an Indian driver is on the grid and, of course, there is a lot following Formula One for a long time. There will be a lot of fans here. It will be hard to explain but it is what it is. I want to enjoy the weekend, have a lot of fun, and try and do the best I can do."

The HRT driver, who made his F1 debut with Jordan in 2005, admitted he had expected to compete in a grand prix on home soil, and that Friday, when the cars take to the track for the first time, will be a “huge day for Indian motorsport”.

“I did not think in my racing career that I would be racing in India and here we are just around the corner. I’ve had thousands of requests for passes,” he smiled. “I just need to relax and from tomorrow it is going to be different, you are in the car a lot. I just want to enjoy the whole atmosphere. My family, everyone is coming. It is a huge day for Indian motorsport and those first few laps tomorrow are going to be very special, yes.”

The Indian driver has been impressed with the track, too. “With the circuit, again like everybody else, it is wide in some places, I am sure lots of different lines you are going to see, lots of overtaking. It is definitely a very challenging circuit, with lots of run off areas and so on, so they have done a very good job, no doubt.”

F1 Media