Team Lotus reserve driver Karun Chandhok has hit back at Force India team principal Vijya Mallya, for his comments regarding Indian F1 talent.
Mallya recently criticised Chandhok and fellow countryman Narain Karthikeyan for racing with teams at the back of the grid who, according to the billionaire, ‘can’t compete’.
“As far as the existing Indian drivers in Formula 1 are concerned, I can only feel very sorry for them. They are getting drives by the teams who clearly can’t compete,” he said during the British GP.
“If that’s what they want to do, drive a Formula 1 car for the sake of driving a Formula 1 car and winding up at the back, I can’t do anything about it.”
Chandhok, who currently participates in the odd practice session for Team Lotus, following his departure at Hispania in 2010, urged Mallya to get his facts right before critcising himself and Karthikeyan.
“I think it’s a bit sad that in one breath the chairman of our Indian ASN is talking about how much he has done for Indian drivers and then in the next breath he is criticising India’s only two Formula 1 drivers,” he told Reuters.
“If you are going to criticise people, at least do it with some facts. Having never tested either Narain or myself in one of his cars, he doesn’t have the facts.”
The 27-year-old also believes his search for the next Indian motorsport star, ‘One in a billion’ wasn’t doing enough.
“I understand the need to find the next Indian star, and I use the word next, not first, and the need to create more Indian F1 drivers.
“But you are not going to find the next Indian star by running events in single-engined four-stroke rental karts on 400 metre tracks made out of concrete.”
