Karun Chandhok - Profile

in DRIVERS by admin — March 27, 2010 at 11:56 am | 7 comments

Karun Chandhok - a billion to one odds

Experts say the odds that life exists on other worlds or universes could be a billion to one. Roughly, the same odds for a young man named Karun Chandhok to land himself an F1 drive in the 2010 season from a country of over a billion people. In good time too, just a year before India gets on the F1 calendar in 2011.

Karun has a full-year gig with the new kid on the block - the Hispania Racing Team (HRT). Karun Chandhok was the last to join the party as a teammate for Bruno Senna, barely a week before the start of the season.

Hispania Racing miraculously managed to get two cars in the season opener in Bahrain without any pre-season testing after surviving a financial meltdown and an identity change from Campos Meta. That situation led Karun to be the only driver in the history of F1 to go straight into a qualifying session of a race without even having done a shakedown of the car!

With such rare odds, no surprise that Karun Chandhok’s debut at Bahrain began on a disappointing note with his going off, early into the race. He has had to learn to deal with problems in the big boys’ league. By his own admission, Karun’s debut was sweetened only by World Champion Michael Schumacher’s gracious “Welcome to the Gang” remarks at the Bahrain pit lane. Award-winning Sports journalist, Oliver Holt however observed in the Daily Mirror, that Chandhok’s struggles at the Sakhir track, against all odds ‘were the most interesting thing about a very a dull race’.

Former F1 driver Jean Alesi once remarked, “You never really know how quick you are before you reach F1”. But Karun is no stranger to speed. He won the Indian National Racing Championship when he was 16 and subsequently made history as the youngest-ever Asian Formula Champion, driving for Team India Racing. In the GP2 Asia Series, Karun finished seventh overall, while in the main series he finished tenth. Other than a win in the Sprint Race at Hockenheim, this speedster logged in podium finishes at Silverstone and Monaco. Karun has shown to be consistent when he’s behind a solid wheel and a competitive package. However, he now has to prove his pace and talent against the best of the breed in the sport.

Oh and this isn’t the first time that this rookie got behind the wheel of an F1 machine. Karun had a testing stint with the Red Bull team back in 2007. His tryst with F1 continued in 2009, in a high-visibility role as commentator for F1 on ESPN Star Sports, alongside the inimitable Steve Slater. Asian audiences loved the crisp style and keen insight that he brought to the F1 TV broadcasts.

Racing is actually very much part of Karun’s DNA. The Chandhok clan can boast of two national racing champions in dad Vicky and grand-dad Indu. Karun has won loads of fans and friends around the world with his earnestness in his driving and his affable personality. He remains an unfazed realist in the hardest of circumstances. F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, said to be one of Karun’s guardian angels, was eager to see this lad on the grid sooner than later, before the 2011 race in India.

With no testing permitted at all until end of the year, the season ahead looks packed with insurmountable odds for Karun at this early phase of his F1 avatar. If he gets to be in a car that is reasonably reliable and learns the ropes in double time, Karun can become one of the best rookies of the season. Karun harbours no illusions. For now, he simply wants to be a credible, respected F1 driver and that’s tough, in a team which itself is not established.

On the other hand, anything can happen in F1 racing and it usually does. While his Spanish outfit is sure to struggle in its debut season, Karun can take heart from the likes of Alonso, where his true racing talent shone through in the Minardi team. And, who knows? Karun Chandhok, who beat the billion-to-one odds to be in the driver’s seat, might be at it again and perhaps drive Hispania into some points. Viva Veloce!

- Prabha Shankar