When we actually won with Narain to be honest it was overdue, because we’d be on pole position at
Donington for the first race of the year and we knew we had a car, team and driver capable of winning. So when we went to
Brands Hatch and Narain basically dominated it was obviously fantastic, but it was almost expected by then. We were almost disappointed that we hadn’t won more at that stage. It was quite a relief to get the first victory! We were the smallest team in the pit lane, with the smallest budget when we got that first podium. We had two podiums by the end of 1998, it was great.
Q:
You also worked with Karthikeyan again in World Series by Nissan and
Formula One. You obviously rate him as a driver?
Trevor Carlin:
Narain is a very natural driver; he has fantastic car control, great confidence in high speed corners and great sense of self-belief. If he’s got a car that he is comfortable with, it’s pretty difficult for anyone to beat him. He suffers a little bit on the technical side, which is probably his main weakness. In the early years he wasn’t physically the fittest driver out there, but as a natural talent, he’s a great driver and we believe in him. He’s obviously played a pivotal part in our team’s success.
Q:
Takuma Sato and
Anthony Davidson were Carlin team mates in 2001 and now race together at
Super Aguri. Were you pleased to see Anthony Davidson finally given his
F1 chance? Do you think Taku and Anthony will work well together?
Trevor Carlin:
Yes, I was very pleased. They were a great team when they worked with us. Obviously they were much younger and raw in those days, and we had a lot more contact with them then. But from what I can work out, they’re still the same guys at heart. So I imagine they’ll behave impeccably and get on well together.
