Karun Chandhok Profile

Karun Chandhok is a veteran of motor racing who will make his Formula One debut in 2010. The Indian driver, currently residing in England, has extensive experience across various racing series and will become the second Indian-born driver to compete in Formula One racing.

Nationality: Indian
Date of Birth: 19/01/1979
Team: Hispania Racing
World Championship Titles: 0
First Race: 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix
First Win: N/A
Car Number: 20
2009 Championship Position: N/A

Karun Chandhok burst onto the Indian motor racing scene as a 21-year-old, winning the Formula Maruti series in India on debut. The following season saw Chandhok promoted to regional racing, and he delivered the goods in the Formula 2000 Asia Series, winning the championship to become the youngest ever Formula 2000 Asia champion.

Success in Asia prompted a move to Europe, and Chandhok would spend the next five seasons working his way up the tiers of European motor racing, starting in Formula 3 racing in the national class before moving on to Formula Renault and eventually GP2 racing.

Chandhok made his GP2 debut in 2007, and quickly proved himself to be a tough contender in the sprint events. Despite some promising performances, Chandhok finished his debut season in 15th place, improving to claim a top 10 position the following season as he finished 7th in the championship.

In 2008 Chandhok was linked to Formula One racing for the first time, and was invited to test for the Red Bull racing team. He simultaneously began driving for Ocean Racing Technology in the GP2 series, but his results soon suffered as a result of a weak car, and he dropped out of the top ten of the GP2 driver’s championship.

Despite flagging results in GP2, Chandhok’s impressive driving style continued to attract interest from Formula One racing, with Force India expressing interest in his services. However, it was Hispania Racing that eventually secured his services, with Chandhok signing up as team driver for the Spanish team for the 2010 racing season.

Formula One Rankings
Position Driver Pts
1Sebastian Vettel
(Red Bull-Renault)		392
2Jenson Button
(McLaren-Mercedes)		270
3Mark Webber
(Red Bull-Renault)		258
4Fernando Alonso
(Ferrari)		257
5Lewis Hamilton
(McLaren-Mercedes)		227
6Felipe Massa
(Ferrari)		118
7Nico Rosberg
(Mercedes GP)		89
8Michael Schumacher
(Mercedes GP)		76
9Adrian Sutil
(Force India-Mercedes)		42
10Vitaly Petrov
(Renault)		37
11Nick Heidfeld
(Renault)		34
12Kamui Kobayashi
(Sauber)		30
13Paul Di Resta
(Force India-Mercedes)		27
14Jaime Alguersuari
(Toro Rosso-Ferrari)		26
15Sebastien Buemi
(Toro Rosso-Ferrari)		15
16Sergio Perez
(Sauber)		14
17Rubens Barrichello
(Williams-Cosworth)		4
18Bruno Senna
(Renault)		2
19Pastor Maldonado
(Williams-Cosworth)		1
20Pedro de la Rosa
(Sauber)		0
21Jarno Trulli
(Lotus-Renault)		0
22Heikki Kovalainen
(Lotus-Renault)		0
23Vitantonio Liuzzi
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
24Jerome d'Ambrosio
(Virgin-Cosworth)		0
25Timo Glock
(Virgin-Cosworth)		0
26Daniel Ricciardo
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
27Narain Karthikeyan
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
28Karun Chandhok
(Lotus-Renault)		0
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