Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan (born 14 January 1977)[1] is an Indian racing driver. He was the first Indian driver to compete in Formula One.[2]

Narain Karthikeyan
Narain Karthikeyan during the 2007 A1GP at Brno Circuit
NationalityIndia Indian
BornKumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan
(1977-01-14) 14 January 1977 (age 47)
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Years active1992 – present
Awards
2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Most Popular Driver
Formula One World Championship career
Active years2005, 20112012
TeamsJordan, HRT
Entries48 (46 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points5
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry2005 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
9 races run over 1 year
2010 position30th
First race2010 Kroger 250 (Martinsville)
Last race2010 Mountain Dew 250 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years2009
TeamsKolles
Best finish7th in LMP1 (2009)
Class wins0

He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He has won multiple races in A1GP, British F3, World series by Nissan, AutoGP, Formula Asia, British Formula Ford & Opel series in his single-seater career. He won the British Formula Ford Winter Series in 1994 & Formula Asia Championship in 1996. He also finished fourth overall in British F3 in 2000 & the World Nissan series in 2003. He made his Formula One debut in 2005 with the Jordan team, and was a Williams F1 test driver in 2006 and 2007. Like several other former F1 drivers, Karthikeyan moved to stock car racing and drove the No. 60 Safe Auto Insurance Company Toyota Tundra for Wyler Racing in the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

In 2011, he returned to F1 with the HRT team, continued with the team in 2012 and was expected to drive for them in the 2013 season as well.

However, HRT was not included in the FIA's 2013 entry list, and thus Karthikeyan was left without a drive. From 2014–2018, Karthikeyan raced in Japanese Super Formula series.[3] In 2019, he ended his single-seater career by joining SuperGT series in Japan.

The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2010.[4]

Family background and early career edit

 
The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting the Padma Shri Award to Shri Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan, at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-II, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on April 07, 2010.

Karthikeyan was born in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. He did his schooling at Stanes Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School in Coimbatore. His interest in motorsport began at an early age, as his father GR Karthikeyan,[5] was a former Indian national rally champion winning South India Rally seven times. With the ambition of becoming India's first Formula One driver, Karthikeyan finished on the podium in his first ever race, at Sriperumpudur in a Formula Maruti. He then went on to the Elf Winfield Racing School in France,[6] showing his talent by becoming a semi-finalist in the Pilote Elf Competition for Formula Renault cars in 1992. He returned to India to race in Formula Maruti for the 1993 season at the age of 15 years,[6] and in the same year, he also competed in the Formula Vauxhall Junior championship[6] in Great Britain. This gave him valuable experience in European racing, and he was keen to return for the following year.

In 1994, he returned to the UK, racing in the Formula Ford Zetec series as the number two works Vector driver for the Foundation Racing team. The highlight of the season was a podium finish in a support race for the Portuguese Grand Prix held at Estoril. He also took part in the British Formula Ford Winter Series, and became the first Indian driver to win any championship in Europe.

In 1995, Karthikeyan graduated to the Formula Asia Championship for just four races. However, he showed pace immediately and was able to finish second in the race at Shah Alam, Malaysia. In 1996, he had a full season in the series and became the first Indian and the first Asian to win the Formula Asia International series. He moved back to Britain in 1997 to compete in the British Formula Opel Championship with the Nemesis Motorsport team, taking a pole position and win at Donington Park and finishing sixth in the overall points standings.

In 1998, Karthikeyan made his debut in the British Formula 3 Championship with the Carlin Motorsport team. Competing in only 10 rounds, he managed two third-place finishes in the final two races of the season, at Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone, to finish 12th overall. He continued in the championship for 1999, finishing on the podium five times, including two wins at Brands Hatch. His season also included two pole positions, three fastest laps and two lap records, helping him to sixth in the championship. He also competed in the Macau Grand Prix, qualifying in sixth position and finishing sixth in the second race. He was the first racing driver to record a win for Carlin in British F3 ever since then Carlin have been invincible in terms of race wins in the British F3 Championship. Continuing his drive in the British F3 Championship in 2000, he finished fourth overall in the standings, and also took pole position and fastest laps in the Macau Grand Prix. He also won both the International F3 race at Spa-Francorchamps and the Korea Super Prix.

Karthikeyan started 2001 in the Formula Nippon F3000 Championship, finishing the year amongst the top ten. In the same year, he became the first Indian to ever drive a Formula One car, testing for the Jaguar Racing team at Silverstone on 14 June. Impressed with his performance, he was then offered a test drive in the Jordan-Honda EJ11 at Silverstone in September. Karthikeyan again tested for Jordan, at Mugello in Italy on 5 October, finishing just half a second off the pace off Jordan's lead driver Jean Alesi.

In 2002, he moved into the Telefónica World Series with Team Tata RC Motorsport, taking a pole position and setting the fastest non-Formula One lap time at the Interlagos Circuit in Brazil. Continuing in the renamed Superfund World Series in 2003, Karthikeyan got four podium finishes on his way to fourth overall in the championship. These results earned him another Formula One test drive, this time with the Minardi team. He was offered a race drive for the 2004 season, but was unable to raise the necessary sponsorship funds to seal the deal.

He continued in the Nissan World Series in 2004, taking wins in Valencia, Spain and Magny-Cours, France, and finished 6th in the standings, and also made a single appearance in the FIA GT Championship for Scuderia Veregra, partnering Anthony Beltoise and Maktoum Hasher Al Maktoum at the Dubai 500km, finishing 11th in class and 19th overall.

Formula One career edit

Jordan (2005) edit

 
Karthikeyan locking his brakes during qualifying at the 2005 United States Grand Prix

On 1 February 2005, Karthikeyan announced that he had signed a preliminary deal with the Jordan Formula One team and said that he would be their main driver for the 2005 Formula One season, making him India's first Formula One racing driver.[7] His partner was Portuguese driver Tiago Monteiro. Karthikeyan completed the necessary testing distance of 300 km in an F1 car in order to gain his superlicence at the Silverstone Circuit on 10 February.

In his first race, the Australian Grand Prix, Karthikeyan qualified in 12th position. After a poor start which saw him drop to 18th place by the end of the first lap, he finished in 15th, two laps behind winner Giancarlo Fisichella. He achieved his only points in the 2005 United States Grand Prix where all but three teams pulled out due to an argument over tyre safety. He finished fourth, finishing ahead of the two Minardi drivers but behind teammate Monteiro. Apart from the USGP, his highest finish was 11th place. In the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix free practice, he was fastest for a long period and eventually qualified 11th. At the 2005 Chinese Grand Prix he qualified in 15th place. In an unlucky end to his 2005 season, Karthikeyan crashed his Jordan into a wall at the Chinese race, but was unhurt and able to provide an interview afterwards.

Because the Jordan team was taken over and renamed Midland for the 2006 season, the management change prompted some doubt over Karthikeyan's future at the team. Near the end of 2005, he announced he would not be driving for Midland the following year allegedly due to their demand that he pay as much as $11.7 million to secure his seat on the team.

On 8 December 2005, Karthikeyan tested for Williams at Spain and finished fifth, outpacing the confirmed Williams second driver, Nico Rosberg, who finished ninth. On 27 January 2006, Williams confirmed Karthikeyan as their fourth driver.[8] He was to perform testing duties for the team alongside Alexander Wurz who had been confirmed earlier as the team's third driver. He was retained as a reserve test driver for Williams alongside Kazuki Nakajima in 2007.[9] Karthikeyan said he was "blown away" by the difference between Formula One's stragglers and a top-flight team.[10]

HRT (2011–2012) edit

 
Karthikeyan driving for Hispania at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Later in 2007, he was linked with the Spyker (previously Jordan) Formula One team after their driver Christijan Albers was fired,[11] although Sakon Yamamoto got the drive. Due to the withdrawal of support of Williams F1 by Tata (Karthikeyan's main sponsor), Nakajima was given the lion's share of testing duties and Karthikeyan was sidelined.

When the Spyker F1 team was bought out by Vijay Mallya towards the end of 2007, Karthikeyan had been linked with a drive with the new Force India Formula One team in 2008. However, he did not even get to test for the team. He was also linked to a drive with the Super Aguri team in January 2008, as one of the terms of an Indian consortium investing in the team. The deal was not agreed and he continued to drive for A1 Team India. He was India's only Formula One driver until the 2010 season, when Karun Chandhok signed to drive for the Hispania Racing F1 Team.[12]

2011 edit

 
Karthikeyan driving for HRT at the 2011 Spanish Grand Prix.

On 6 January 2011, Karthikeyan announced that he would drive for the Hispania team in the 2011 season,[13] following five years away from active involvement in the championship. He confirmed the deal via his Twitter page, saying it would be a "dream come true to race in front of the home crowd in the Indian GP in October," and adding that the support of financial backers Tata Group had been "instrumental".[14]

Driving for a small team, along with the increasing reliability of modern Formula 1 cars, meant that Karthikeyan twice set the record for the lowest placed finisher in a Formula 1 event.[15] The first occurrence was during the Chinese Grand Prix where the single retirement of Jaime Alguersuari meant Karthikeyan finished in 23rd place, after he was overtaken by teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi on the final lap. However, in the European Grand Prix there were no retirements meaning that Karthikeyan once again broke the record by being the 24th car to cross the finish line.

On 30 June 2011, Karthikeyan was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo for the remaining races of the season except the Indian Grand Prix[16][17] but participated in Friday first practice in Germany, Singapore, Japan and Korea.

On 23 October 2011, it was confirmed that Karthikeyan would replace Liuzzi for the Indian Grand Prix.[18] Karthikeyan was outqualifed by 0.022 secs to qualify 22nd,[19] however he started 24th and last due to blocking Michael Schumacher in qualifying.[20] Despite picking up damage in the first lap of the race,[21] Karthikeyan managed to beat Ricciardo by 31.8 seconds in the race to finish 17th.[22] Liuzzi returned to replace Karthikeyan ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.[23]

2012 edit

 
Karthikeyan driving for HRT at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix.

On 3 February 2012, it was confirmed that Karthikeyan had again signed for the HRT team for the 2012 season partnering Pedro de la Rosa.[24] In the Australian Grand Prix, he and teammate Pedro de la Rosa were unable to qualify. In Malaysia, both the HRTs managed to qualify, with Karthikeyan starting 23rd due to a 5-place gear box penalty for Heikki Kovalainen, the start was wet and the HRTs gambled to start the race on full wet tyres, whilst the other cars started on intermediate tyres. As the rain increased that gamble paid off as other cars had to pit for full wets which promoted Karthikeyan to a points-paying tenth place before the safety car then red flag came out for heavy rain. At the restart, after a few more laps behind the safety car, the track was dry enough for intermediate tyres and a few drivers pitted as the safety car came back in, however Karthikeyan stayed out and was as high as 5th place at one point, before McLaren's Jenson Button crashed into him whilst they were racing for position. Karthikeyan suffered damage however, but he pitted for intermediate tyres which dropped him to the back of the field, bar teammate de la Rosa who had a served a drive-through penalty. On lap 47, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel received a puncture after hitting Karthikeyan's front wing, whilst lapping him and Vettel was forced to pit and replaced the punctured tyre which put Vettel down from 4th place, finishing 11th; Karthikeyan finished the race in 21st, however he was given a 20-second post-race penalty for his part in the collision, which meant he dropped to 22nd and last, behind de la Rosa.

Post-race, Vettel and Red Bull boss Christian Horner criticised Karthikeyan's driving, with Vettel calling Karthikeyan an "idiot".[25] Karthikeyan hit back at Vettel, calling him a "cry-baby".[26] Later, Kartikeyan decided to call a truce with Vettel, stating his respect for Vettel's abilities and saying "I think we have to deal with it in a mature way and forget about it."[26]

Kartikeyan qualified last for the following five races (bar in Spain where Lewis Hamilton was excluded from qualifying and in Monaco where Sergio Pérez crashed without setting a time) however he started 24th and last twice (in Bahrain and Canada) due to other drivers picking up grid penalties. In China he finished 22nd, ahead of Caterham's Heikki Kovalainen. In Bahrain, he finished 21st and was classified ahead of the Williams of Bruno Senna who retired due to brake issues. In Spain he retired after a wheel nut failure on lap 22 due to a botched pit stop. In Monaco he started 22nd, ahead of Perez and the penalised Pastor Maldonado and finished the race in 15th, classified ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button who retired after collision damage with Kovalainen. In Canada he retired for the second time in the season after suffering a brake failure on lap 22 which made him spin in turn 1 and stop later on in the lap. His teammate Pedro de la Rosa retired with a similar issue two laps later.

 
Karthikeyan at the 2012 US Grand Prix

At the European Grand Prix Karthikeyan for the first time in the season qualified 22nd, ahead of the Marussia of Charles Pic, with Timo Glock missing qualifying and the race due to illness. He finished the race in 18th, behind Pic and de la Rosa but classified ahead of Lewis Hamilton who retired after crashing out with two laps remaining. He finished the next 3 races as the final classified finisher before retiring in Hungary due to broken suspension. He qualified last in Belgium, before running as high as 13th during the race, with good pace, before crashing out on lap 30 in broken suspension. He out-qualified his teammate de la Rosa for the first time this year at Monza, but ended up finishing behind him in 19th. He out-qualified him again at Singapore, this time by over a second, but crashed out at turn 16 on lap 30.

Karthikeyan qualified in 24th at Suzuka, having crashed in practice and therefore having to use an old-spec chassis floor. He was running ahead of Pic and de la Rosa for quite some time until retiring with vibrations on lap 32. He did a one-stop strategy in Korea and finished last in 20th, almost a lap behind Pic in 19th. In India he once again finished last, running with minor wing damage from a collision at the first corner. He retired in spectacular fashion on lap 9 in Abu Dhabi after his steering broke and he was rear-ended by Nico Rosberg. He qualified 24th in Austin amid fears that both he and his teammate would be outside the 107% time after struggling to heat the tyres in practice on the brand-new circuit, and then finished last in 22nd, also being accused by Vettel of holding him up when being lapped and allowing Lewis Hamilton to take the lead. He qualified 23rd in Brazil and peaked as high as 11th during the incident-packed opening stint of the race. He eventually dropped back and finished last in 18th. He finished the season in 24th, with zero points.

Other events and races edit

IRL test edit

In 2005, Karthikeyan tested an Indy Racing League (IRL) car for the Red Bull Cheever Racing team for the Indianapolis 500 race and was offered $500,000 as an initial fee, but the deal was not completed.[citation needed]

A1 GP edit

In 2007 season Karthikeyan also drove for A1 Team India. He made his A1 GP debut in New Zealand and he finished 10th in the sprint race and 7th in the Feature Race.[27]

 
Karthikeyan competing for A1 Team India at the 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, South Africa.

Karthikeyan won the A1GP of Zhuhai (China) for Team India on 16 December 2007. This was India's first A1GP win.[28] Karthikeyan is also the first to take pole position for India in the A1GP. He got pole in the feature race in Brands Hatch in 2008. Karthikeyan won two feature races in the 2007–2008 season, including the season finale at Brands Hatch starting from pole position. This helped India finish in the top ten, ahead of such as Australia, Brazil, China and Italy.

The 4th season for Team India was disastrous as the team lost its title sponsor, which resulted in severe financial constraints. On 3 May 2009 A1 Team India finished the season with a podium finish in the Sprint Race at Brands Hatch. Karthikeyan qualified the A1 Team India car in 7th place on the starting grid for the race. The Feature Race ended abruptly for Karthikeyan, as he was taken out by the spinning car of A1 Team China in front of him on the first corner of the first lap.[29]

The team finished 12th overall in the 2008–09 season.[30]

24 Hours of Le Mans edit

In the second week of March 2009, Karthikeyan tested for the Kolles Le Mans Team. It was later confirmed that for the 2009 season, he would be partnered by Charles Zwolsman, Jr. and Andrew Meyrick. Team Kolles – headed by ex-Jordan, Midland and Force India Team Principal Colin Kolles – took part in the championship with two Audi R10 turbo diesel machines. The car boasted a successful racing history with three Le Mans 24h victories and 22 individual race wins to its name. Team Kolles joined the championship for the first time in 2009.[31][32][33]

On 11 May 2009, Karthikeyan finished sixth in his first ever Le Mans series race while driving for the Kolles Audi team in the second round of the 2009 championship held at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.[34] On 14 June 2009 Karthikeyan dislocated his shoulder in a fall just before the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He had come up with strong performances in the practice and the qualifying, and was scheduled to do the opening double stint. At 1:00 am the ACO organisation declared him unsuitable to drive, even though the Audi doctor approved it.[35]

NASCAR edit

Karthikeyan made his NASCAR debut at Martinsville Speedway on 27 March 2010 driving in the Kroger 250 Camping World Truck Series for Wyler Racing in the #60 Safe Auto Insurance Company Chevrolet Silverado. Qualifying was rained out and the field set by 2009 owner points, putting the first Indian-born driver to compete in NASCAR in the 11th starting spot. After a slow start and coming to grips with driving a race truck and racing on an American oval short track for the first time, Karthikeyan did manage to put in a very respectable effort and finished on the lead lap in 13th place. Karthikeyan went on to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Most Popular Driver Award for the 2010 season which was voted by the fans, becoming the first foreign-born driver to win the award.

Superleague Formula edit

Karthikeyan drove for the PSV Eindhoven team in SLF in 2010. He won the 2nd race at Brands Hatch, Great Britain and finished 16th in the Championship on 288 points, taking part in six of the twelve race weekends.

 
Karthikeyan during the 2014 Super Formula season.

Auto GP edit

Karthikeyan drove for Zele Racing and Super Nova Racing in the Auto GP series in 2013. After switching from Zele Racing to Super Nova Racing, in the latter part of the series, he won 5 races and secure 4 pole positions and in the process finished 4th in the championship & became the highest points scorer in the second half of the season.[36]

Super Formula edit

In 2014, Karthikeyan returned to the Japanese Top Formula series Super Formula for the first time since 2001 with the same Team IMPUL. In the 2015 season, Karthikeyan moved to Honda-powered Docomo Team Dandelion. Karthikeyan moved to Sunoco Team LeMans for the 2016 season after DoCoMo Dandelion Racing chose McLaren Honda F1 Reserve Stoffel Vandoorne.

Super GT edit

In 2019, Karthikeyan raced with Nakajima Racing for one race, winning the Fuji Super GT x DTM Dream Race in Fuji, gaining the fastest lap during the race. He then raced with Modulo Epson NSX-GT Team for 8 races, gaining one podium.

Racing record edit

Career summary edit

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
1992 Indian Formula Maruti ? ? ? ? ? 1 ? ?
Pilote Elf Competition for Formula Renault ? ? 1 ? ? ? ? ?
1993 Indian Formula Maruti ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
British Formula Vauxhall Junior ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
1994 Formula Ford Zetec ? ? ? ? ? 1 ? ?
British Formula Ford Winter Series ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1st
1995 Formula Asia ? 4 ? ? ? ? ? ?
1996 Formula Asia Marlboro Castrol Meritus Racing Team ? ? ? ? ? ? 1st
1997 British Formula Vauxhall Nemesis Racing ? 1 ? ? 2 43 8th
1998 British Formula 3 Championship Intersport 4 0 0 0 0 44 12th
Carlin Motorsport 6 0 0 0 2
Macau Grand Prix Carlin Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 11th
1999 British Formula 3 Championship Carlin Motorsport 16 2 2 3 4 104 6th
Macau Grand Prix Stewart Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 14th
Masters of Formula 3 Carlin Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 16th
MRF Madras Formula 3 Grand Prix 4 2 ? ? 2 ? 3rd
Pau Grand Prix Carlin Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Korea Super Prix Stewart Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2000 British Formula 3 Championship Stewart Racing 14 0 0 0 4 100 4th
Macau Grand Prix Stewart Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
French Formula 3 Championship Carlin Motorsport 2 1 1 0 0 ? ?
Masters of Formula 3 Stewart Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 19th
Korea Super Prix Carlin Motorsport 1 1 1 0 1 0 1st
2001 Formula Nippon Team Impul 10 0 0 0 0 2 14th
Korea Super Prix Carlin Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 9th
2002 World Series by Nissan Tata RC Motorsport 18 0 1 0 1 51 9th
Macau Grand Prix Carlin Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2003 World Series by Nissan Carlin Motorsport 18 0 0 0 4 121 4th
Macau Grand Prix Carlin Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 WD
2004 World Series by Nissan Tata RC Motorsport 18 2 1 0 4 100 6th
FIA GT Championship Scuderia Veregra 1 0 0 0 0 0 54th
2005 Formula One Jordan Grand Prix 19 0 0 0 0 5 18th
2006 Formula One Williams F1 Team Test driver
2006–07 A1 Grand Prix A1 Team India 10 0 0 0 0 13 16th
2007 Formula One Williams F1 Team Test driver
2007–08 A1 Grand Prix A1 Team India 18 2 1 0 2 61 10th
2008–09 A1 Grand Prix A1 Team India 12 0 0 0 1 19 12th
2009 Le Mans Series Kolles 4 0 0 0 0 11 19th
24 Hours of Le Mans Kolles 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 7th
2010 Superleague Formula PSV Eindhoven 12 1 1 0 1 288 16th
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Wyler Racing 9 0 0 0 0 963 30th
2011 Formula One HRT Formula 1 Team 9 0 0 0 0 0 26th
2012 Formula One HRT Formula 1 Team 20 0 0 0 0 0 24th
2013 Auto GP Zele Racing 6 0 0 1 0 195 4th
Super Nova International 10 5 4 2 7
2014 Super Formula Lenovo Team Impul 9 0 0 0 0 5 13th
2015 Super Formula Docomo Team Dandelion Racing 8 0 0 1 1 6 11th
2016 Super Formula Sunoco Team LeMans 9 0 0 1 1 5 14th
2016–17 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship MRF Racing 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2017 Super Formula TCS Nakajima Racing 7 0 0 0 0 0 19th
2018 Super Formula TCS Nakajima Racing 6 0 0 0 0 4 15th
2019 Super GT Modulo Nakajima Racing 8 0 0 0 1 23.5 12th
Super GT × DTM Dream Race – Race 2 1 1 0 1 1 N/A 1st
2021 Asian Le Mans Series Racing Team India 4 0 0 0 0 42 6th

As Karthikeyan was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete Formula Nippon/Super Formula results edit

(key)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points
2001 excite Impul SUZ
6
MOT
7
MIN
9
FUJ
Ret
SUZ
Ret
SUG
13
FUJ
9
MIN
Ret
MOT
14
SUZ
6
14th 2
2014 Lenovo Team Impul SUZ
Ret
FUJ
7
FUJ
6
FUJ
7
MOT
Ret
AUT
17
SUG
11
SUZ
10
SUZ
8
13th 5
2015 Docomo Team Dandelion Racing SUZ
3
OKA
10
FUJ
Ret
MOT
9
AUT
14
SUG
13
SUZ
12
SUZ
14
11th 6
2016 Sunoco Team LeMans SUZ
Ret
OKA
16
FUJ
7
MOT
Ret
OKA
3
OKA
Ret
SUG
12
SUZ
15
SUZ
14
14th 5
2017 TCS Nakajima Racing SUZ
13
OKA
17
OKA
13
FUJ
14
MOT
Ret
AUT
Ret
SUG
13
SUZ
C
SUZ
C
19th 0
2018 TCS Nakajima Racing SUZ
17
AUT
C
SUG
5
FUJ
16
MOT
11
OKA
13
SUZ
17
15th 4

Complete Formula One results edit

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 WDC Points
2005 Jordan Grand Prix Jordan EJ15 Toyota RVX-05 3.0 V10 AUS
15
MAL
11
BHR
Ret
SMR
12
ESP
13
MON
Ret
EUR
16
CAN
Ret
USA
4
FRA
15
GBR
Ret
GER
16
HUN
12
TUR
14
ITA
20
18th 5
Jordan EJ15B BEL
11
BRA
15
JPN
15
CHN
Ret
2011 Hispania Racing F1 Team Hispania F111 Cosworth CA2011 2.4 V8 AUS
DNQ
MAL
Ret
CHN
23
TUR
21
ESP
21
MON
17
CAN
17
EUR
24
GBR 26th 0
HRT Formula 1 Team GER
TD
HUN BEL ITA SIN
TD
JPN
TD
KOR
TD
IND
17
ABU BRA
2012 HRT Formula 1 Team HRT F112 Cosworth CA2012 2.4 V8 AUS
DNQ
MAL
22
CHN
22
BHR
21
ESP
Ret
MON
15
CAN
Ret
EUR
18
GBR
21
GER
23
HUN
Ret
BEL
Ret
ITA
19
SIN
Ret
JPN
Ret
KOR
20
IND
21
ABU
Ret
USA
22
BRA
18
24th 0

Complete A1 Grand Prix results edit

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 DC Points
2006–07 India NED
SPR
NED
FEA
CZE
SPR
CZE
FEA
CHN
SPR
CHN
FEA
MYS
SPR
MYS
FEA
IDN
SPR
IDN
FEA
NZL
SPR

10
NZL
FEA

7
AUS
SPR
AUS
FEA
RSA
SPR

15
RSA
FEA

9
MEX
SPR

11
MEX
FEA

18
CHN
SPR

7
CHN
FEA

17
GBR
SPR

7
GBR
SPR

4
16th 13
2007–08 NED
SPR

10
NED
FEA

Ret
CZE
SPR

21
CZE
FEA

9
MYS
SPR

11
MYS
FEA

6
CHN
SPR

7
CHN
FEA

1
NZL
SPR

10
NZL
FEA

Ret
AUS
SPR

11
AUS
FEA

11
RSA
SPR
RSA
FEA
MEX
SPR

13
MEX
FEA

9
CHN
SPR

5
CHN
FEA

7
GBR
SPR

5
GBR
FEA

1
10th 61
2008–09 NED
SPR
NED
FEA
CHN
SPR

10
CHN
FEA

10
MYS
SPR

Ret
MYS
FEA

Ret
NZL
SPR

9
NZL
FEA

7
RSA
SPR

6
RSA
FEA

12
POR
SPR

6
POR
FEA

11
GBR
SPR

2
GBR
FEA

Ret
12th 19

Superleague Formula edit

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Operator 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Position Points
2010 PSV Eindhoven Racing for Holland SIL
ASS
MAG
JAR
NÜR
ZOL
BRH
ADR
POR
ORD
BEI
NAV
16th 288
12 15 X 13 9 X 11 15 X 13 16 X 10 14 X 18 1 X

24 Hours of Le Mans results edit

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2009   Kolles   Charles Zwolsman Jr.
  André Lotterer
Audi R10 TDI LMP1 N/A DNS[a]

Complete Auto GP results edit

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pos Points
2013 Zele Racing MNZ
1

5
MNZ
2

Ret
MAR
1

6
MAR
2

Ret
HUN
1

8
HUN
2

4
4th 195
Super Nova International SIL
1

1
SIL
2

12
MUG
1

3
MUG
2

1
NÜR
1

1
NÜR
2

5
DON
1

2
DON
2

1
BRN
1

1
BRN
2

DSQ

NASCAR edit

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Camping World Truck Series edit

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 NCWTC Pts Ref
2010 Wyler Racing 60 Chevy DAY ATL MAR
13
NSH KAN
36
DOV CLT
17
TEX
11
MCH IOW GTY IRP
20
POC NSH
17
DAR BRI CHI
14
KEN NHA LVS
27
MAR TAL
13
TEX PHO HOM 30th 963 [38]

Complete Super GT results edit

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DC Points
2019 Modulo Nakajima Racing Honda NSX-GT GT500 OKA
10
FUJ
10
SUZ
11
CHA
10
FUJ
10
AUT
7
SUG
2
MOT
12
12th 23.5

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Karthikeyan was nominated as the starting driver for the No. 14 Kolles entry, but dislocated his shoulder going over the pitwall before the formation lap. He was unable to take part in the race and was therefore not credited with the seventh place his teammates achieved.[37]

References edit

  1. ^ "Narain Karthikeyan biography, Hispania Racing". HispaniaF1Team.com. 10 April 2011. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012.
  2. ^ Pande, Vinayak (16 March 2011). "Didn't want to spend my life thinking what if: Narain Karthikeyan". Hindustan Times. New Delhi: HT Media Limited. Archived from the original on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  3. ^ "Narain Karthikeyan to race in 2014 Super Formula season". Daily News and Analysis. 5 February 2014.
  4. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  5. ^ Unnikrishnan, MS (12 March 2005). "Race apart". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Ebrahim, Akbar (12 March 2005). "Drive devil". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Karthekiyan to be signed by Jordan Midland". 1 February 2005. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Williams Confirms Narain Karthikeyan". NewsOnF1.com. 27 January 2006. Retrieved 4 May 2006.
  9. ^ "Williams retain Karthikeyan for 2007". 28 September 2006. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2006.
  10. ^ "Karthikeyan 'Blown away' by F1 contrast". F1racing.net. 12 December 2006. Retrieved 24 October 2006.
  11. ^ "Karthikeyan versus Piquet for Spyker". grandprix.com. 10 July 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2007.
  12. ^ Noble, Jonathan (4 March 2010). "Chandhok announced as HRT driver". Autosport. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  13. ^ Noble, Jonathan (6 January 2011). "Karthikeyan signs race deal with HRT". Autosport. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
  14. ^ Weeks, Jimmy (6 January 2011). "KARTHIKEYAN LANDS HISPANIA DRIVE FOR 2011". F1Badger.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
  15. ^ "European Grand Prix from the pit lane". BBC. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  16. ^ "Hispania confirms Daniel Ricciardo will race for it from Silverstone". Autosport. 30 June 2011.
  17. ^ "Karthikeyan to race in India for HRT". Formula One. 17 September 2011.
  18. ^ "Karthikeyan to replace Liuzzi for Indian GP". ManipeF1.com. 23 October 2011. Archived from the original on 28 October 2011.
  19. ^ "2011 Airtel Formula 1 Grand Prix of India Qualifying Results". Formula One. 29 October 2011.
  20. ^ Elizalde, Pablo (29 October 2011). "Karthikeyan penalised for impeding Schumacher during qualifying". Autosport. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  21. ^ "Karthikeyan proved his worth at the Indian Grand Prix 2011". aaformula1.com. 30 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2011.
  22. ^ "2011 Airtel Formula 1 Grand Prix of India Race (Timing Archive)". Formula One. 30 October 2011.
  23. ^ "Liuzzi braces for 'tricky' Yas circuit". Gulf News. 8 November 2011.
  24. ^ "Narain Karthikeyan joins HRT F1 team for 2012 season". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  25. ^ "Sebastian Vettel criticises 'idiot' backmarker in Malaysian GP". BBC. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  26. ^ a b "Karthikeyan keen to move on from Vettel 'cry baby' comment". BBC. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  27. ^ "With change of heart, Narain says yes to A-1". Hindustan Times. 16 January 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
  28. ^ "Earth Times: show/159637.html". earthtimes.org. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  29. ^ "A1Teamindia". Archived from the original on 9 October 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  30. ^ "A1Teamindia". Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  31. ^ "Karthikeyan invited to Kolles Le Mans test". GPUpdate.net. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  32. ^ "Albers signs with Kolles Le Mans team". GPUpdate.net. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  33. ^ "Team Kolles confirms drivers and Audi R10 livery". planetlemans.com. 31 March 2009. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  34. ^ "Karthikeyan does well to finish 6th". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 12 May 2009. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013.
  35. ^ "Karthikeyan rejected to drive at Le Mans". f1technical.net. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  36. ^ "Narain Karthikeyan ends Auto GP season with five wins". DNA India. 6 October 2013.
  37. ^ "Freak injury forces Karthikeyan out of Le Mans". The Times of India. 14 June 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  38. ^ "Narain Karthikeyan – 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 4 April 2023.

External links edit

Achievements
Preceded by NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Most Popular Driver
2010
Succeeded by