Bernie Ecclestone expressed delight in the signing of Karun Chandhok, the young Indian driver who will partner Bruno Senna at Hispania Racing.
Ecclestone has warned the public and media that Chandhok will take time to get up to speed, and asks that he is supported. In 2009 we saw rookie drivers jumping into the car without prior testing, such as Alguersuari and Grosjean, they then went onto struggle, Grosjean eventually losing his seat to Vitaly Petrov.
“I am very happy today to see that Karun has finally secured his place on the Formula 1 grid,” Ecclestone said in a press release.
“It’s been a bit last minute but the main thing is that he is there and with a team that should provide him stability and a chance to learn.
“Formula 1 is a very tough business with the best drivers in the world competing in the best cars and on the most challenging race circuits in the world. That is why it is the pinnacle of sport and while I believe it’s going to take Karun until mid-season to show his potential, I wish him all the very best for this season and look forward to seeing the Indian media and public get behind him this year.”
Ecclestone is keen to break into the huge Indian market, with a population of almost 1.2 billion, second only to China. The F1 right’s holder has negotiated a race in India, scheduled for 2011, and hopes the likes of Chandhok will create a bigger following.
“India is rapidly growing to be one of the most important and powerful players in the world of business, culture and sport and at FOM, we look at India very seriously,” he said.
“We have an Indian F1 team on the grid, we will have an Indian Grand Prix thanks to the Jaypee Group in 2011 and so it seems only right that there should be an Indian driver in Formula 1.”
