Karthikeyan still hopes for 2012
Narain Karthikeyan still hopes to find a seat in Formula 1 in 2012 even though the few that are still available are highly sought after.
After debuting in 2005 with Jordan, Narain Karthikeyan returned to F1 by participating in nine Grand Prix in 2011, the first eight of the season before being replaced by Daniel Ricciardo. He made a final appearance at the first Indian Grand Prix in the history of Formula 1.
“I had a good Indian Grand Prix and the goal is to see what opportunities are available in Formula 1 and see how we can conclude something. I don’t manage things directly. So there are people handling that on my behalf,” Karthikeyan told Reuters.
During the first races of the season, the first Indian to participate in a Formula 1 Grand Prix had not particularly impressed. He was often outpaced by Vitantonio Liuzzi. However, during the Indian Grand Prix, he delivered an astonishing performance despite not having raced with HRT for eight Grand Prix. He managed to outpace Daniel Ricciardo by finishing 17th.
Free seats for 2012 are becoming scarce – there is one left at Williams which seems promised to Sutil and another at HRT, with the latter being highly sought after. The most likely option for Karthikeyan in 2012 seems to be the Hispania Racing team, but he would be competing with other drivers such as Alguersuari, Chandhok, Clos, Petrov, Charouz, d’Ambrosio, or even Liuzzi.
It is logical for a driver who has already raced in F1 to want to continue in the most prestigious motorsport championship in the world, but Narain Karthikeyan’s options seem slim, especially since he does not have a significant budget.
