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Karthikeyan happy with F1 effort
He is elated to have finished 15th in his maiden F-1 race. Narain's Profile|More on F1
After managing the 15th place in the Australian Grand Prix, India's Narain Karthikeyan said it was a very good feeling to have met his goal and finished the race in his maiden F-1 outing.
"The car has been reliable as I expected. I met my goal and finished the race. I am very glad to have finished my first Grand Prix. At the end, I am happy for the team, with our achievement, to have brought our two cars home," said the 28-year-old Jordan driver.
"It is a good team work and really a very good feeling to finish the first Grand Prix of the season."
Karthikeyan and his Jordan teammate Tiago Monteiro, who finished one place behind the Indian on 16th, gave a strong drive in the Albert Park race to bring home their Jordan Toyota EJ15s.
The Indian rookie's effort was commendable considering he overcame a very bad start to the 302-km race which saw seven-time world champions Michael Schumacher crash out 14 laps from the chequered flag following a contact with Williams' Nick Heidfeld.
"I had a very bad start and then stayed behind Monteiro for a while. After the first pitstop, I pushed a lot and thereafter it was a trouble-free race," he said.
Karthikeyan's next stop in the circuit would be Malaysia on March 20 and he was already looking forward to the challenge of driving in adverse weather conditions.
"I am looking forward to the next race, even though the weather conditions in Malaysia at the Sepang International Circuit will be much more demanding under a warmer, tropical and humid climate."
