India's first Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan had been left in a blind alley by HRT when it shut shop after the 2012 season and finding that he could not land a drive in 2013, he soon found his way into Auto GP.
Lo and behold, he is now in with a chance of grabbing the title after his double podium finish at Mugello, Italy, last week.u00a0Though the Auto GP series (formerly known as Euroseries 3000) is nowhere near F1, Karthikeyan is enjoying competing against a mix of young and experienced drivers, including former Grand Prix driver Christian Klien.
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Narain Karthikeyan
“There is no comparison with F1 car or driving but I am happy racing in Auto GP. There is no better feeling for a driver than winning a race.u00a0“It is nice to be beating some of the young guys and unlike F1, everyone has the same car, a kind of level-playing field and thus the results are all the more satisfying,” Karthikeyan told IANS.
Karthikeyan’s pace has been impressive ever since he moved to Super Nova from Zele before the fourth round at Silverstone in June. He won a race that weekend and repeated the feat in Race 2 at Mugello. However, he inherited victories from Kevin Giovesi in both cases.
“With the result last week, I think I can have a shot at the title. The car is good and with the way things are going, I am confident of chasing the leaders in the final three rounds,” said Karthikeyan, who lies fourth in the standings with 96 points, 42 short of topper Sergio Campana.
Another reason why Karthikeyan is eying the Auto GP title is that he plans to move to United States next season for a stint with IndyCar. Karthikeyan says it was tough for him to continue in single seaters after his team HRT, decided to close operations.
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