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Karthikeyan happy with best race ever
Indian Formula One rookie Narain Karthikeyan claimed he put in the 'best ever' performance of his Formula One career in Imola.
Indian Formula One pilot Narain Karthikeyan claimed he put in the 'best ever' performance of his Formula One career in Imola on Sunday when he kept up with rivals Red Bull Racing in the San Marino Grand Prix.
Karthikeyan, who made his debut for Jordan in Australia this year, qualified 17th on the grid and was encouraged by the pace of his car as he came home in 14th place behind Scot David Coulthard, who has scored nine points this year.
The pace of the Jordans, who race on a limited budget, left him eager for the next event in Spain.
"This is the best race for me so far pace wise and I am enjoying the progress we are making," he said.
"I made a decent start and I was able to keep close to the cars in front. I had a good first pit stop but I made a small mistake in the second, which unfortunately cost me some time.
"I was on my own for the rest of the race, but it was a very positive race for us because we were able to keep up with the Red Bull cars and that is very encouraging for the team."
Jordan, who race with Bridgestone tyres, will also be encouraged by the performance of world champions Ferrari, who use the same tyre partners, after Michael Schumacher raced to second place.
The German driver shot through the field after starting 13th and the huge developments made by Bridgestone and Ferrari in recent testing should soon filter through to Jordan.
Karthikeyan's team chief Trevor Carlin was disappointed by the Indian driver's pit stop mistake, which cost him a possible stronger result, but he is confident that things are still moving forward.
"We had quite a good race where we showed a very good pace with Tiago (Monteiro their other driver) and especially Narain hanging on to the Red Bull cars and Felipe Massa's Sauber," said Carlin.
"Narain made a small mistake in his pit stop, which unfortunately did not allow us to take advantage of our speed, but we are pleased and encouraged by the pace we had in the race."
