Karun Chandhok will test for the Red Bull F1 team at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
Indian gets a test invite from F1 team Red Bull
NEW DELHI: Karun Chandhok will test for the Red Bull F1 team at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
Before the headlines begin blaring and hype begins to go into overdrive it is important to realize that an opportunity to test in no way translates into a guaranteed race drive.
Chandhok’s father Vicky put the whole in perspective:
“Its not even worth speculating where this will take Karun in F1. For us it is really not big news but at the same time it is gratifying that he has managed to get this opportunity after just one year in GP2. That he is the youngest Indian to step into an F1 car also makes it special.”
In fact the 23-years-old Chennai racer has stated that he will stick to GP2 for another season next year and is not even exploring the option of an F1 drive.
His age though makes him a potent challenger for a drive in the years to come. While the Chandhoks are being humble about the whole deal India’s first F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan puts the situation in perspective.
“This is a great opportunity for Karun and he has to make the most of it. It’s a good car and not a back marker. He can learn a lot from the outing.”
It needs to be recalled that Karthikeyan himself first tested at the age of 24 with Jaguar in 2001. He twice tested for Jordan in 2002 and then came the Minardi outing in 2003.
His eventual entry into F1 came four years later with the Midland outfit in 2005.
However, things promise to be different for Chandhok given the progress he has shown in GP2 and the growing economic muscle of India which makes him all the more attractive for sponsors.
The present outing also landed in Chandhok's lap as regular tester Sebastien Buemi is competing in the Macau Formula 3 race.
Chandhok has the reputation of being a technical driver and Red Bull will be looking to use his inputs as F1 will no longer be using electronic aids like traction control for next year.
Chandhok's GP2 car does not rely on any such external input thus fostering enhanced driver control.
An F1 car, however, is about 250 bhp more powerful than any Chandhok has piloted yet and it will be interesting to see how quickly he adjusts to the grunt of the bigger machine.
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