Chandhok eyes possible 2010 seat
November 11, 2009 by SJ Skid
Filed under People & Events
Indian GP2 driver Karun Chandhok said today there are three possible spots for him on the 2010 grid and that a final decision should be public within the next few weeks.
Posting a Q and A on his official site, Chandhok — who has tested for Force India and been seen as a logical driver to step into Vijay Mallya’s car — says he has met with all the new teams and several existing ones as he seeks a spot next year.
My father, our sponsors, advisors and I have been quite busy at following the driver market in F1 and making sure we’re talking to the right people but it’s a very complicated time in F1 with a lot of unknowns. We’ve met with all the new teams and some of the existing ones to explore options for 2010. At the moment, I would say there are still 3 very realistic possibilites to race in Formula 1 next year but I don’t think anything will be public for a few more weeks. Of the 26 pieces in the F1 driver puzzle there are only maybe 10 that are in place so there’s still a lot up in the air and I am still optimistic that something will work out.
You can get to the Q and A here.
Chandhok also heaps praise on F1’s newest driver, Bruno Senna:
I am genuinely pleased for him. Bruno is a friend and we got along very well together. I think it’s great for Formula 1 to have to Senna name back. He is definitely a very fast driver and he deserves his place in F1. I believe he has a good financial sponsorship package which probably made him an even more attaractive option for the team.
We were very evenly matched in terms of speed – I don’t think we were ever more than a couple tenths apart and therefore we built a healthy amount of respect for each other as two team-mates pushing each other. From a technical side, we worked very well together but more than anything, we actually grew to become friends, which is very rare for team-mates. His family are lovely people who have been through a very tough time, not only with the loss of Ayrton but also Bruno’s father who got killed soon after Ayrton and I’m very pleased they’ve got the Senna name back to F1.
Mallya and Chandhok’s family are friendly, which is a big part of why the driver is seen as a possible future Force India driver.
I’m among those who was not terribly impressed by Tonio Liuzzi’s performance in the Force India this year. His one good drive, at Monza, came at a track where Force India was strong, and he still didn’t finish. From there, both he and Adrian Sutil fell off the pace, but Adrian certainly was the stronger driver as the year ended.
It might be worth taking a flyer on Chandhok for Mallya, although that would leave the team with a pretty inexperienced line-up.
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It would be nice to see Karun on the grid next season as he is one of those promising drivers who are losing there edge by staying in GP2. He has tested for Red Bull earlier and knows his workplan out straight. It would also be interesting to see how he develops his skills in such a competitive season because the last Indian F1 racer, Karthikeyan,came into formula one when he was a bit old, had lesser taste of f1 and came into a season where the chances of putting a Jordan on top were as scarce as a Dodo in Mauritius. Seeing Karun drive would also be useful for bringing up more no. of Fans , Supporters, Investors etc from India, as well as it might help open up the eyes of Indian Sports Ministry to change their views against Motorsports. He deserves a chance, after all winning at Spa is not mere luck.
Technically Liuzzi has’nt shown is talent, except in monza, but i think he’s much stronger than Chandok, there is no doubt in my opinion. But Chandok is indian, has sponsor and even Bernie said it’s time to have an indian driver in f1, so if Sutil stay in f.india at the end Caroun will logically gain the seat..
{Mallya and Chandhok’s family are friendly, which is a big part of why the driver is seen as a possible future Force India driver.}
This friendship has developed through NEED, Need to keep in good books with only Indian team owner on the grid. The fact is fathers of F1 aspiree Karun Chandok and Arman Ibrahim were heading the body representing Indian Motorsports. Mallya wrestled them put of power and became chairman of this body around same time he started the F1 team. Of course Max gave his blessings to Mallya in returned for his vote after the infamous Spank-Gate.
If you take a look at what Force India drivers delivered in last two years, with steady development and compare that to Narain Karthikeyan’s Performance in an undeveloped and old spec car in 2005. Its plain clear that but for Mallya’s stubborn attitude Karthikeyan and Chandok would have delivered similar results as Fisi/Sutil and not to mention there would have been real Indian Sponsors on the car (unlike current where all sponsors are part of Mallya’s Business Intests, but for Sutil’s Personal Sponsor)
My Biggest Gripe with Mallya is after taking control of Motorsports governing body in India, he smoked out the Sound Karting Infrastucture that earlier regime had developed in late 90’s and early part of this decade. There were young drivers emerging through that setup, now there is no hope of that.
Mallya is just going to stiffle Chandok’s Career for sure
Right said W4ever, and about young drivers from India, Narain Karthikeyan is trying to bring out some talent on the tarmac with his own racing team here at the domestic events, but he needs support from the Govt. from the FMSCI and MIA ( the governing bodies) and other backers and sponsors. In India, all the big sponsors spend their money on Cricket, The BCCI is the richest of all cricket boards in the world and still craving for more. A1GP team India has faced hard times without a single sponsor at one time and that was when Karthikeyan, first Indian F1 driver,was racing and winning there.Karthikeyan has not achieved all this because of a influential father,a compatriot team owner or likewise but because he had the ability. Mallya, is just like Flavio in a sense. All he want is fame , money ,glamour and free advertising for his brands on the team. I do not disagree to the fact that he has made India proud and has done something good for the sport,but his attitude towards Indian drivers is not an admirable one.. I think its time that Indian motorsport ppl chose someone like Karthikeyan or Gaurav Gill to play active role in Leading the associations.
@ nelson: its KARUN