A month ago, there was a lot of chatter about Karun facing the axe from the HRT team, for a lack of funds. While similar rumors had been circulating since the start of the season, there were a couple of incidents that week, which made me believe them. First there was Karun talking up the idea of an Indian driver at Force India F1 and how it would attract sponsors. But the second and more significant event was Karun’s mom, Chitra Chandhok re-tweeting fan’s messages referring to the rumor about him being dropped, because of a lack of funds.

When Bruno Senna was dropped for the British GP, I wondered how and why he was dropped in favor of Karun. Bruno obviously has way more following and seemed in a much better financial position than Karun. Later that weekend, news broke that Karun had a new sponsor. Jaypee group, the people who are building the circuit in Delhi for the Indian GP in 2011, at which point I thought that it was all well.

Today we hear the disappointing news that Karun was dropped and as always, we have no reasons. Adding insult to injury, no one, including Karun himself, is sure about when he will be back.

At the moment we are talking only about Hockenheim but with four drivers and two cars, it is probably inevitable I will miss some more races. We will sit down after Hockenheim and talk about the next race, which is in Hungary the following week. Then we have the summer break and we will see what happens. It is a little bit up in the air. The team are looking towards 2011. I have talked with Jose Ramon Carabante [team owner] about their plans for 2011 today so it’s not like there’s been a total breakdown between us or anything. It’s just something they want to do now.

The norm in F1 is for the driver to not “talk”, but Karun is changing all that and in the process winning a bunch of fans, not just outside the F1 fraternity, but the hardcore insiders. Instead of trash talking, he had something constructive to say.

As a racing driver it’s obviously not great to be missing races but I’m not in contention for the world championship or in a points battle over anything. I came into this team looking to establish myself as a credible, respectable Formula 1 driver and I’ve done that. I expect to be back for some races later in the year. The team gave me the chance to be in F1 and I have to respect and support this decision.

Like Narain, I think Karun could have proved a lot more, had he been put in a better car. But one thing is for sure, he is a very cool customer (he is tweeting his weekend plans) and has made a bunch of people love him, by being himself. For that one reason, I’d love to see him back on the grid.

But one thing I’ve known as an F1 fan is that Karun is one of the few people, who is loved by all. Maybe it was his first interview at the start of the season or the fact he is open or that he deals with things well, but judging by the reaction form the general public, it’s only a matter of time before he comes back. And would not be surprised if he shows up in the Force India cockpit next year.

Ps: If you have not, I suggest you take a look at Karun’s blog posts. Specifically the one where he talks about what it took for him to get on the grid. I’ve never read anything close to this from any of the current F1 drivers.

Renault Roadshow in Delhi

With an amazing season coming to an end, the F1 circus, Renault in particular, took a detour to India before heading home.

The road show of the F1 team, sponsored by ING Vysya, will have a spectacular display of the 2007 Renault F1 cars driving down the Rajpath. The show will comprise stunts by professional drivers on Renault Megane Trophy cars, the Toon cars and the display of their Logan cars.

Delhi GP delayed by a year

Meanwhile, Delhi’s GP has been delayed by a year [Tip F1 Fan]. There is no official word on why the GP has been delayed by a year, up until the announcement, Mallya was convinced that the 2010 time line was realistic. The other problem with the GP also seems to be internal politics. With the Indian Olympics Committee originally set to handle the entire event, another private firm seems to have taken the lead role, while news still trickles out of IOC.

India’s date with Formula One racing is delayed by another year, to 2011, Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi said on Thursday but refused to give any reason for it.

Management Changes at Force India F1

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Karun in the RBR pits.
Image from http://karunchandok.com

Karun Chandok made the best use of his test with Red Bull Racing, driving alongside David Coulthard, the past two days. Sitting in the cockpit of the Red Bull senior team’s car, powered by Renault engines, Karun managed to set the 18th fastest time on track on the first day. He was only trailed by the two Force India cars. Although teams test various components and set up’s, they normally run the car for a few laps on low fuel for the bragging rights.

For the second day in a row, retired Ferrari World Champion, Michael Schumacher, helping Ferrari with their testing, set the fastest time, fueling speculation that he might return. What went unnoticed was that Karun managed to hoist himself to 11th. Although the press was going gaga over Schumi’s pace, I am fairly confident that a few major teams have taken notice at Karun’s performance.

In other F1 – India news, Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed that India will be hosting it’s GP starting 2010. Bernie was quoted as saying

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We reported earlier this month about a decision the the Indian F1 GP in Delhi and it looks like progress has been made.

India has sealed a deal to host its first Formula 1 grand prix from 2010, the country’s Olympic Association (IOA) has announced.

IOA president Suresh Kalmadi confirmed that Formula One Management had approved two prospective sites for a circuit on the outskirts of New Dehli and that F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone had given the green light for it to make the final decision on which site to use.

The other interesting piece of news to come out of the interview was that India could actually be the season opener. This is important because venues normally fight for the first race of every season and somehow India seems to have made the list.

Kalmadi added that the inaugural race in India had been set for three seasons’ time and that it could possibly be the season-opener.

And the contract runs for 10 years, once they figure out what the support races will be for the circuit.

The initial contract on the table is for a period of 10 years and Kalmadi says that before signing the deal, the promoters need to ensure the new venue will be served by events other than just F1.

We are guarded about our response until we actually see a press release by the FOM, until then, we will call this speculation.

It is official. Alonso and Hamilton have just completed a McLaren 1,2 at Monza. But the talking point in the Indian context is that the decision on the venue for the Indian GP is expected in a week.

This piece of news is probably a week old, but sadly slipped under the UD radar. But SPEEDTV analysts, while covering the race have just reported that F1 designer Herman Tilke (the main brain behind tracks such as Baharin, Shanghai and Malaysia) was in India last week to survey the proposed sites. Tilke has since returned to London to consult with F1 head honcho Bernie Ecclestone before the announcement can be made.

ET has reported that “the track length would be around 5 km with an investment of Rs 500 crore”. Formula One awaits the financial guarantee of Rs 60-200 crore or a letter of credit towards the licence fee from India by September 30.

According to Suresh Kalmadi, the President of Indian Olympic Association and the man in the forefront of the Indian F1 bandwagon, the proposed sites identified are Tughlaqabad Shooting Range (Delhi), Kundli-Manesar highway (Haryana) and Taj Expressway(UP). All these sites were surveyed by Tilke last week. Additionally it appears that the Rajpath venue which seemed to be the front runner earlier is no longer in the reckoning (confirming the fears that many, including yours truly had expressed).

“We have shown Mr Tilke all the sites. He would discuss the sites with Mr Ecclestone and close in on one of them. All the expenses for construction of the site would be borne by us. F1 management would only provide technical expertise to develop the site,” Mr Kalmadi said.

(link)

So we wait. Watch this space for more news as it breaks!