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Q&A: Chandhok Speaks With The F1 Times
Hispanic Racing’s Karun Chandhok once again delivered an impressive performance last Sunday, cementing his statistic of being the most consistent driver of the “new” teams. Appearing to be the “lead” driver within his own team, Karun is determined to prove that he deserves his position within the F1 community.
Q: How would you describe the satisfaction of finally reaching the "pinnacle of motorsport"?
Karun Chandhok: It’s pretty incredible but to be honest I didn’t have time to think about it and let the feeling sink in. My whole life has been spent dreaming and working towards being a Formula 1 driver and I think when these big things happen in life, our brains don’t process it so quickly! Ever since I was a kid all I wanted to do was be in Formula 1 – I didn’t want to be a doctor or lawyer or anything else and this year has been the realization of that dream.
Q: How would you describe your relationship with teammate Bruno?
KC: It’s rare for team-mates to be friends but Bruno and I get along very well. I don’t see him as Bruno Senna, nephew of Ayrton – I see and respect him as Bruno, a driver in his own right. He and his family are great people and we’re both mature enough to deal with the pressures. At iSport in 2008 we had a great working relationship with the engineers so I think we can carry that on this year. We always had a similar style and similar requirements from the car which is good for the engineers to carry out parallel programs. I think because you are friends you trust each other a bit more.
Q: Unfortunately not as competitive as all of the "new" teams to Formula One, do you believe Hispania will be able to make any leaps in pace (relative to the opposition) throughout the remainder of the season?
KC: It's no secret that we are lacking downforce and that is central to improving how the car works in all types of corners - not necessarily just the fast ones. We have a lot of work to do still with the electronics and on the suspension side but primarily the big performance gains will be aero. I think we’ve started to inch our way in the right direction towards the other new teams and we hope to bridge that gap further over the next few races as well and get both cars to the finish.
Q: You've previously stated that it would be a "logical step", in terms of marketing, for you to drive for Force India later in your career. As a child, however, was there a particular team that you dreamed of driving for?
KC: I am an absolute fan of the sport and its history and even growing up, while friends of mine were reading comics, I had my eyes glued to pages of Autosport Magazine. I think while it’s every racing driver’s dream to drive for a Ferrari or Mclaren, I have incredible respect and admiration for Frank Williams and the Williams team. I must say that getting the chance to drive Keke Rosberg’s Championship Winning Williams at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed will be quite special.
Q: In relation to your own expectations, your teammate's results and the overall potential of the vehicle, how satisfied are you with the results you have achieved so far in 2010?
KC: I think from having to battle to be on the grid in the first place this year to what we’ve achieved so far, it’s been pretty incredible. I got a mail soon after the European GP from a friend of mine telling me that I was now leading the ‘’Newbies’’ Championship ahead of all the other new team’s and their drivers. I wasn’t complaining!! It’s been good to be able to compete on track of late with the Virgin Racing cars and to finish ahead of them and Bruno has only proved that I’m here for a reason and not for a good time.
Q: Do you have any goals for the remainder of the championship?
KC: Our target by the end of the year will be to be the best of the new teams. We have always known that the first half of the season for us was going to be about being respectable, being credible and trying to just establish ourselves as respectable drivers who are ready to be in F1 for the long run and I think that, by now, we have earned that credit in the paddock.
Q: Three circuit moments in your illustrious career that you will never forget?
KC: There are 3 that come to mind -
My first win in Formula Asia in the Philippines in 2001. It was my first foray into international racing and I came away with 2 pole positions, 2 wins and 2 fastest laps and that got me on my way.
My first GP2 win in Spa in 2007 was a huge moment for me. It had be a very long hard slog that year to get the sponsorship money to race in Europe and I was the last driver to do a deal that year to be on the GP2 grid so to win a race with a totally unfancied team was a huge boost to my career.
The first F1 test I did with Red Bull Racing. It had always been a huge dream of mine to drive a Formula 1 car and that was a big moment.
TH
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