Narain Karthikeyan has insisted that he has unfinished business in Formula 1, despite pledging his future to A1GP for the forthcoming campaign.
The Indian registered his nation's greatest international motor racing success when he triumphed in the World Cup of Motorsport's feature race in Zhuhai last December, and added to that with victory in the 2007/08 finale at
Brands Hatch earlier this month to ensure India finished inside the top ten in the final standings for the first time.
No stranger to making history, the 31-year-old similarly became the first of his countrymen ever to race in the top flight when he competed for Jordan Grand Prix back in 2005, achieving a best finish of fourth place in the largely-boycotted US Grand Prix at Indianapolis.
He subsequently spent a couple of seasons test driving for
Williams, only to walk away from the multiple championship-winning Grove-based outfit at the end of last year, but he hopes that by performing well on the international stage in A1GP – allied to the growing allure of the sport in his homeland, particularly since the arrival of
Force India on the
F1 grid – he may re-attract the attention of team bosses in the uppermost echelon.
“I'll continue doing A1GP,” Karthikeyan told international news agency
Reuters, “but I want to have another crack at Formula 1, which is the pinnacle of motorsport.
“If you do well at this level (A1GP), somebody is bound to notice. I have the backing from the right companies in India and, unlike other countries, there are not many drivers from India trying to get into
Formula 1. At least for the next three to four years I am in a very strong position.”
“Representing your country in A1GP is special,” he added in an interview with the
Howrah News Service, “but growing up, my dream was to drive an F1 car. The first half of my F1 rookie season went according to plan, but the second was a rough ride as I had problems with the team management.
