Mallya happy for Karthikeyan

Narain Karthikeyan is the big surprise at the start of the year. The Indian, who went into exile in Le Mans Series or in Superleague Formula in recent seasons, returns to a discipline in which he rode in 2005. Driver of Formula 1 on behalf of HRT, he found Colin Kolles, whom he met at Jordan and found again in endurance.

Vijay Mallya, boss of the Force India team, congratulates his compatriot for having succeeded in returning to the elite. “I am happy that Narain has been able to make his return to F1 with HRT and I wish him every success in the future. India can be proud because it will be represented, during the first Grand Prix it will organize, by an Indian team and now an Indian driver. »

Although he is not against the employment of Indian pilots, Vijay Mallya nevertheless places performance before patriotism. “We talked to Narain for a while but it wasn't the right time for us in our development phase. We are now close to finalizing our driver duo and we are really excited for what is to come. »