India Sports News

Karun Chandhok's fledgling Formula One career received a shot in the arm with Force India part-owner Vijay Mallya promising to consider the youngster for a test driver's role, if not the race driver's seat, in 2009. Mallya made it clear that Karun remains on the F1 radar and if he does well in the GP2 series this year, the youngster might end up landing the race driver's job straightway in 2009. "I know his family for a long, long time and he is like my son. He himself felt he needs to spend one more year in the GP2, where he is doing quite well, before he is ready for F1" Mallya said from Malaysia. Mallya's words are sure to come as music to Karun's ear and the youngster seems on the right track to achieve his F1 dream.
After his maiden GP2 series victory with Durango Corse in Belgium, Karun has been rewarded with a test driver's role with the Red Bull F1 team. The youngster has also left the mid-field Durango to join top-flight iSports International, which won the championship previous season. It was a significant step in the right direction, considering iSport driver Timo Glock won the championship and was confirmed by Toyota for the next season.
In the past, drivers who made the GP2 to F1 transition include 2005 champion Nico Roseberg, who joined Williams, and 2006 winner Lewis Hamilton who was roped in by McLaren. Similarly, doing well on GP2 would open the F1 door for the 23-year-old Chennai driver, believes Mallya
"A new GP2 season beckons him and if he manages to do well ? and he would be driving for a top team this time - we might consider him for the race driver's role itself," Mallya said. "I can assure you that he would be considered at least for the test driver's role," he added. Since Mallya joined hands with the Mol family and took over Spyker, now christened 'Force India', he has provided a reasonable budget to the team and set them a target of a podium finish when India hosts its maiden Grand Prix in 2010.
Though he has been stressing on skills rather than nationality of the drivers, Mallya reckons having an Indian behind the Force India wheels in the 2010 GP would complete the picture. "A podium finish when India hosts its first maiden Grand Prix in 2010 remains the target of the team and icing on the cake would be having an Indian driver behind the wheels," he said.
However, Karun still has some way to go before joining the big league and former Jordan driver Narain Karthikeyan, plying his trade in A1 GP these days, is also out of the radar, but Mallya believes India would definitely have its next F1 diver by 2012.
"I think in the next five years, we would certainly have an Indian F1 driver. In fact it can be as early as 2012." And he himself would see to it that new driving talents come up, asserted Mallya. "Force India would also identify driving talents in India and fund their training in the academy at Johor Bahru, in Malaysia before sending them to France for further training."
Source:- http://www.headlinesindia.com/sports/index.jsp?news_code=66793