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Off the F1 track, Indian speed duo hits the airwaves
Life outside the limelight of the Formula One track may not exactly be ideal for one of India’s ace drivers Narain Karthikeyan, but it will surely be far more relaxing.
Life outside the limelight of the Formula One track may not exactly be ideal for one of India’s ace drivers Narain Karthikeyan, but it will surely be far more relaxing.
“Definitely I’d be missing the buzz this time around but I have enjoyed an extremely strong season of racing outside of F1, in the Auto GP World Series where I was in contention for the championship title. Nevertheless, I will be at the Fox Sports studio in Singapore as an analyst for the Indian GP race weekend, so I’ll be keeping a close eye on the proceedings from there!” said Narain, who competed for Jordan (in 2005) and HRT (in 2011-12) and is now putting together a plan to drive in Indycar, the top-level of American single-seater for next year.
“My aim for next year is to drive in a fast single-seater championship where I can be competitive and fight at the front for pole positions and wins, like I did this year. With this intention, I am working on something in Indycar, starting with a test hopefully sometime this year and then on to a drive for the 2014 season,” he adds.
Karun Chandhok, the other Indian driver to have raced in Formula One, too will be in the studio, for a different channel. Karun, who competed for HRT (in 2010) and Lotus (in 2011), has mostly been busy commentating on the F1 races apart from handling his racing commitments at Le Mans 24 Hours and other events.
Off the track
As he sums it up, “It is interesting to keep things on your side of the fence. I have been doing lots of TV stuff, for Formula One, Sky Sports and Star Sports.”
The fact that he has been getting good reviews about his commentary stint keeps him going. “It is nice to hear when people do say good things about me. But at the end of it, racing is definitely my first love. I have always wanted to drive but for that, there has to be financial backing. In the meantime, commentating is a good side to keep your balance and of course, make a living,” he adds.
Karun has also been busy with a new project. “I am also working on a new racing project and that is taking up quite a bit of my time. It is expected to come up next month.”
