Narain Karthikeyan

Chris Jenkins · Feb 3, 2012

The 2012 F1 grid has been completed with HRT announcing that Narain Karthikeyan will drive alongside Pedro de la Rosa.
HRT had, up until Friday, the only seat available for this year's Championship with rumours saying it would either remain in the hands of Tonio Liuzzi or go to a paying driver. It's gone to the latter.
Karthikeyan, who raced for HRT last season before being dropped in favour of Daniel Ricciardo and his Red Bull-backing, is set to return to the outfit this year in what is being billed as a move 'based on the principle of continuity contributing to the stability and reliability of the team.' ]

The 35-year-old, who also contested the inaugural Indian GP with the team, is delighted to be back on the grid.
"It has taken a lot of hard work to make this happen but I am absolutely elated to feature on the 2012 grid with HRT F1 Team," he said.
"I was pleased with our strong performance at the Indian Grand Prix, in front of my passionate home fans and I look forward to building on this result in 2012.
"I have been training hard since the end of 2011, ensuring I was ready for the rigours of F1 if an opportunity arose. I am delighted to have signed with HRT F1 Team. With the new management, Pedro, and the team, there is definite potential for progress.
"We need to understand that F1 is new to India, we hosted our first race only last year which was a resounding success. To build on that momentum, an Indian driver will certainly keep the interest engaged throughout the season.

"I am proud to secure an opportunity to forge a stronger connection between India and Formula 1 once again."
Team boss Luis Pérez-Sala added: "I am pleased to count with Narain for this season, as he will contribute continuity and stability. He is a quick, intuitive and secure driver who met his expectations despite a lack of continuity last year.
"Of the eight grands prix he contested in 2011, he only failed to finish on one occasion and had a great performance in the last race he took part in. I'm sure that the fact that he will continue to work and drive on a regular basis will help him take a step forward this season. And if he advances, so does the team.
"This is a year in which you could say that the team starts from scratch and everyone's input will be fundamental."

Source: Planet F1

I can't help but laugh a little bit. Karthikeyan??

Eric Parker · Feb 3, 2012

I didn't see that one coming.

Chris Jenkins · Feb 3, 2012

The fate of the team is purely on De La Rosa's shoulders it seems.

Ole Marius Myrvold · Feb 3, 2012

I saw that coming, from the rumours the last few days it's not a big surprise. And for being a guy that hadn't been in F1 for many years, he wasn't very far behind Liuzzi last year. There are also two other important things with Narain. He don't crash, and he brings money. A good deal for HRT!

Chris Jenkins · Feb 3, 2012

Ole Marius Myrvold said:
he wasn't very far behind Liuzzi last year.

The medical car wasn't far behind Liuzzi last year!

ufunacaoenn · Feb 3, 2012

What....! :o
I was expecting Bianchi to have that seat.

Chris Jenkins · Feb 3, 2012

I wouldn't be surprised if Ferrari advised Bianchi that it wouldn't be a good move.

Alexander Macdonald · Feb 3, 2012

Yeah, kept reasonably close to Liuzzi after five years out, got kicked off, then came back and comfortably matched Red Bull's rising star after another eight races out. What a bad driver...

Ole Marius Myrvold · Feb 3, 2012

Georgios Davakos said:
What....! :eek:
I was expecting Bianchi to have that seat.

Even after he was confirmed as the 3rd driver at Force India?

Like... Ferrari youngster, placed at Force India, being placed in HRT?

ufunacaoenn · Feb 3, 2012

Ole Marius Myrvold said:
Even after he was confirmed as the 3rd driver at Force India?

Like... Ferrari youngster, placed at Force India, being placed in HRT?

Well he said on his Twitter that he was waiting for an answer by HRT.

Juen-Jen Wang · Feb 4, 2012

I think Narain would do better. Well hopefully he'll do better.

To be honest, I don't think Narain should be in F1 again. However, Narain now has a very rare 2nd chance opportunity to impress people since he should have gotten use to F1 after competing last year.

Those that bash Narain should remember that he was previously racing in NASCAR trucks

I'm sure you'd suck in F1 if you're latest racing memory is NASCAR trucks on ovals. (And he was last in F1 in 2005 before last year)

However, this year, no excuses. He either performs or he should get out of F1 asap.

Ross Balfour · Feb 4, 2012

Chris Jenkins said:
The fate of the team is purely on De La Rosa's shoulders it seems.

R.I.P HRT

ufunacaoenn · Feb 4, 2012

Ross Balfour said:
R.I.P HRT

Hahaha, the season have yet to start.

Scott Webber · Feb 4, 2012

Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan has joined Pedro de la Rosa at HRT, completing their line-up for the 2012 Formula 1 season.

The Spanish team announced the appointment on Friday, giving the 35-year-old a second year with the team.
HRT replaced him with Red Bull-backed Australian rookie Daniel Ricciardo midway through the 2011 calendar.
"Narain's a quick, intuitive and secure driver - he'll contribute continuity," HRT boss Luis Perez-Sala said.

"Of the eight grands prix he contested in 2011, he only failed to finish on one occasion and had a great performance in the last race he took part in."

Q: It has finally been revealed that you will occupy the last seat available as an official driver, how are you facing this new challenge in Formula 1?

Narain Karthikeyan: It all really started after the Indian GP, where we had a good performance which led to the belief that I am still competitive to drive in Formula 1. It is no secret how difficult it is to stay in F1 at this time, but I ensured that I was physically and mentally ready for any opportunity that arose. So I can’t wait to get back in the car and return to action once again.

Q: The uncertainty you’ve faced in the period spanning from the end of last season until the moment you’ve been confirmed can’t have been easy to handle. What have you done to keep yourself occupied?

NK: Well, there were more ups and downs than I can remember, positive and negative days – sometimes I just gave up but it was quickly followed by yet another glimmer of hope. It was exhausting mentally, but like the adage goes, all’s well that ends well.
There was plenty to keep me occupied during the winter though, like I said earlier I trained as hard as I would have if my drive was confirmed last season; fitness is critical in F1 and racing in general. Then there were lots of discussions, which meant a lot of travelling – flights, hotel stays and those sorts of things. So I didn’t have a whole lot of time to sit and mull over things, to be honest.

Q: This will be your third season in Formula 1, what targets have you set yourself?

NK: As far as results go, it largely depends on the development of the car, although I must say that things are looking promising. Otherwise, I have no doubts in my ability, I am extremely confident as last year and after the first few races, I drove better than ever. So I’ll be pushing hard no doubt about that. A lot of things change this year even though it is the same team, and I am sure it’ll be for the better. The new management is wholly focused on all-round improvement and from what I have seen – they will do so.

source

Juen-Jen Wang · Feb 4, 2012

The interview made me snicker a little but then again. I realized that NO F1 driver would say that they aren't confident, able, or "competitive". I doubt any F1 driver would say. "Yeah, I kinda sucked last year in F1. I hope I can do better but I'm afraid I might have passed my prime."

I actually wish Narain luck. He wasn't that great in 2005 but he was quick at times. I think he might, just might, have some talent to do fairly respectable in F1 considering that he jumped from NASCAR to F1 last year.

Hopefully he'll do better, but as I said before... he'll have no excuses this year. Perform on par or above de la Rosa or just be kicked from F1

Xosé Estrada · Feb 4, 2012

Ross Balfour said:
R.I.P HRT

Lol like if he was bad... Mc Laren always wanted him back because was a great test driver, he performed very well with that car, and did similar to Heifield in Sauber except for reliability problems... So tell me what's wrong with him, I couldn't imagine a better option for HRT.