Q. With the inaugural Indian Grand Prix just around the corner, excitement must be building amongst the local population. We’ve heard stories of fans at the opposite end of the country buying tickets, which must be very encouraging. Do you know how well ticket sales are going?
Karun Chandhok: When I last spoke to the JPSI guys they told me tickets are selling fast and they have no reason to believe that it will not be a full house. India is a large country full of Formula One fans and am sure we will see people from all ends of the country filtering into the Buddh International Circuit in large numbers for the race weekend. Motorsports in India has been more Southern based due to the circuits there but the last few years have seen the shift to the North as well. So people will come from the South, West, East and everywhere to see the first ever Indian GP
Q. It would obviously be a dream of yours to drive in front of your home crowd. How close are you to securing a seat for the race with Team Lotus? Team owner and principal Tony Fernandes admits it would make sense, especially with the outfit having all but secured tenth in the championship.
KC: Well without a doubt it will be a dream come true for me to drive at the Indian Grand Prix but unfortunately nothing has been confirmed as of now so will just wait and keep my fingers crossed. I think this is more of a question for Tony and not me! To be honest, I don’t care even if it’s made on the 28th morning!!
Q. Recent images from the site show progress is coming along well, but with just under six weeks until the cars line-up on the grid, are the organisers confident of being ready?
KC: The guys at JPSI have been working day and night around the clock to get the venue ready for the race for the last two years and I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the circuit will be ready. As a brand ambassador and a consultant for the circuit I can confidently say that the track is almost complete. The actual circuit in terms of racing is 97% ready. The remaining 3% includes minor things like marshals’ posts etc. However, as far as inspection and homologation is concerned, it’s 100% complete.
Hats off to Jaypee Sports International (JPSI) for doing a phenomenal job in bringing the race to India and giving Indian fans a chance of a lifetime. They have an extremely dedicated and hardworking team who are focused on delivering on of the best F1 facilities in the world.
Q. You’ve spent the season as Team Lotus reserve. They’ve given you many opportunities to get behind the wheel during practice as well as the German GP weekend but, with Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen confirmed for next year, are you looking to leave and secure a permanent race seat elsewhere?
KC: My objective is to get a potential full-time race seat for 2012. I prefer to look at the longer term than the short term. I am strongly involved in the development of the T128 and now our aim is to make sure we improve the car till the end of the season.
Q. Your former team-mate, Bruno Senna, has been given a chance to race with Renault. You must be pleased to see him with a competitive team, which has enabled him to secure some points?
KC: Absolutely! It’s great to see my former team-mate and good friend Bruno Senna behind the wheel of the Lotus Renault car and I’m very pleased to see him back racing again.
It’s nice to see teams give opportunities to new guys, like Tony Fernandes and Riad Asmat did for me in Germany and Eric Boulier has done for Bruno. End of the day, the only way we’re going to get better and gain experience is by being out on track and while in the short term there may be some pain, in the longer term it could work out better for everyone.
Q. What’s your view on the season so far? Sebastian Vettel has all but wrapped the title up with a handful of races to go, do you think this will damage the sports following and the audiences for the remaining races, or has the quality of each race been enough to maintain interest?
KC: I think this season has seen some fantastic racing even though Seb is walking away with the title. There has been a lot of overtaking, and in general all races have been a thrill to watch. Seb has been on another level this year and deserves all the credit as he has not put a foot wrong this year. When Michael was dominating the races were not close but this year the racing has been really close and this is why I believe that it will not damage the sport. This year with DRS, KERS and most importantly the new Pirelli tyres the racing has been fun for everyone and let’s not forget we have 5 world champions on the grid.
