Karun joins hands with GP2 champion team

Dec 20:  Karun Chandhok feels his association with ‘I-Sport International’ would be a stepping-stone for his F-1 prospect. Indian racing star teams up with highly-rated Bruno Senna, nephew of the legendary former Brazilian world champion, the late Ayrton Senna.

Indian racing star Karun Chandhok has moved one step forward to his Formula 1 dream as he signed up with I-Sport International, the Red Bull junior team programme, after his successful test drive with UK-based Red Bull Racing last month.

Karun is eyeing a top-five finish in the GP2 circuit next season in quest of an F1 berth after becoming the first Indian winner in a GP2 race this year with Durango team.

The UK-based I-Sport International Company, which secured both the drivers and team championship in 2007, has signed Chandhok for the 2008 GP2 season. The Indian racing champion’s team-mate will be the highly-rated Bruno Senna, the nephew of the legendaryformer Brazilian world champion, the late Ayrton Senna.

“My sights are on F1 for sure, but right now I want to take it step by step. For me, the GP2 series, where the F1 managers scout for new talent, is the right way to approach the dream,” Chandhok said while addressing a media briefing here on Wednesday.

“This is the best period for Indian motor sport. Narain has won the A1 GP event in China, there is one Indian-owned F1 team and now there is a talk of India hosting an F1 Grand Prix in the near future. This will certainly increase interest both among the public and the sponsors,” said Chandhok.

“The experience gained here should come good for me as I would like to aim for F1 in the 2009 season,” he added.

He would also try and shape up for 2009 by participating in both the GP2 series and the newly introduced GP2 Asia series. Chandhok said that though he raced for Durango in the 2007 season, he decided to join ‘iSports’ since it was a top-flight team.

“I had a good season with Durango and won the race in Spa (Belgium). But it’s a mid-field team whereas iSport is the top-flight team. There were a lot of contenders but I managed to get it,” he said.

Chandhok also articulated hopes that he will be ready for Formula 1 by the end of next year.