Narain Karthikeyan put up a good fight before finishing 14th after Spaniard Fernando Alonso braved a scorching assault from seven-time champion German Michael Schumacher to win the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola on Sunday.
Both the Jordan drivers, Kathikeyan and Tiago Monteiro, had a decent start but then they had relatively uneventful races until 11 laps to the end when the Portuguese suffered a puncture caused by picked-up debris, which damaged his right rear wheel. Monteiro finished one place behind the Indian.
"This San Marino Grand Prix was an eventful race. I am not only talking about the winner and second of the race. But 'my race'. This time, I did not have a lonely race and had to fight with several serious contenders," Karthikeyan said.
Despite their drivers bring up the rear, it was a positive result for Jordan to bring both cars to the chequered flag and the team was looking forward to the next opportunity at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.
Rookie Karthikeyan was smiling a lot when he stepped out of his bright yellow car, an indication that he was quite pleased with his performance.
{{/usCountry}}Rookie Karthikeyan was smiling a lot when he stepped out of his bright yellow car, an indication that he was quite pleased with his performance.
{{/usCountry}}Unlike Bahrain and Malaysia, where weather was quite treacherous, Karthikeyan had just to focus on the track during a cool but dry afternoon with an air temperature of 19 degree centigrades and track temperature of 23.
"This is the best race for me so far, pace-wise," Karthikeyan said.