Indian Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan will be back in the cockpit for Hispania Racing during Friday's first practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix scheduled from Sep 23 to 25.
Hispania Saturday confirmed Karthikeyan's return for the Singapore night race. The 34-year-old driver was replaced by Australian Daniel Riccardio after the first eight races of the season but will be back in action at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix next month.
Karthikeyan will driving the F111 car during the practice session at the challenging 5.073 km Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore.
"It is great to have Narain back in the car as it will give him critical seat time before he drives at the Indian GP. He is the best driver to come out of the region and is undoubtedly extremely talented as he has proved through his progress this season," said Hispania team principal Colin Kolles in a release.
Karthikeyan is expectedly delighted at the prospect of returning behind the wheel. "Of course it is a great feeling to be driving on a Grand Prix weekend once again, and on the subject of my home race (Indian Gp), the team had assured me that I would be driving when I stepped out of my seat at the European GP."
{{/usCountry}}Karthikeyan is expectedly delighted at the prospect of returning behind the wheel. "Of course it is a great feeling to be driving on a Grand Prix weekend once again, and on the subject of my home race (Indian Gp), the team had assured me that I would be driving when I stepped out of my seat at the European GP."
{{/usCountry}}On the the Singapore circuit, Karthikeyan added: "It will definitely be a challenge as it is new to me so I will have to get to grips with it fairly quickly. From what I know, it is a very demanding race physically, not only because of the temperatures and humidity but also being a high-speed street circuit it is extremely bumpy.
"Like any other street circuit, grip builds up through the weekend and car-setup will have to be constantly evolved to get the best out of it. Overall, it is a great place to return to race proceedings, and will go a long way to get me back in the rhythm for the Indian GP."