Narain Karthikeyan could end up alongside Paul di Resta at
Force India this season, it is being reported.
According to India's
Deccan Chronicle the 36-year-old has already been offered a reserve driver role with the Silverstone-based squad, but he is keen to continue racing, and with more financial backing than he had in 2012, he could yet land the final seat on the F1 2013 grid.
“As soon as Narain's long-term sponsors Tata increased the budget for 2013, talks with
Force India began. Unlike the past, the negotiation has been a lot more positive,” the 'paper quotes 'a source' as saying. “As reserve drivers don't have much of a role in F1 these days, Narain is only interested in the second driver seat. If talks fail, he will probably go to America for
IndyCar series where a couple of teams have already shown interest.”
A number of drivers' have been linked to
Force India in recent months as the team continues to delay a decision on the replacement for Nico Hulkenberg, who opted to move to Sauber at the end of last season.
Last week Jules Bianchi and James Rossiter both helped out during the
Jerez test, and the former, the team's test and reserve driver in 2012, is still thought to be one of the favourites to get the nod, along with former
Force India driver Adrian Sutil. Jamie Alguersuari has also been mooted, as has Bruno Senna and Luiz Razia, although the latter two are no longer in the frame, having signed other deals. Senna will race with Aston Martin Racing as part of its assault on both the
Le Mans 24 Hours and the World Endurance Championship, while Razia has inked a deal with Marussia.