An expensive road trip
Will Karun Chandhok be able to get an F1 seat?
With only a few spots left on the 2010 Formula One driver’s grid, the race is at a critical stage and one of the drivers hoping to take home a point, or in this case a race seat is Indian driver Karun Chandhok.
Having spent three years racing in the GP2 Series, essentially a feeder series for Formula One, Chandhok is in talks with more than one team that is set to make its F1 debut. There are three new teams being created from this season onwards. However, before he gets behind the wheel of an F1 car, Chandhok will need to see himself through the motorsport-and-money-matters equation.
When plans to introduce a cap on the team budget in F1 fell through, teams that were initially preparing to invest around 50 million euros, find themselves having to work with a budget of 80 to 85 million euros. And in a post-recession world, to whom do they turn to in order to overcome this shortfall? With the F1 season opener in Bahrain less than two months away, teams are looking to prospective drivers like Chandhok. Talent alone does not ensure that you make the cut in motorsports as drivers have to ensure sufficient funds through sponsors to “justify” their inclusion.
And this struggle to garner sponsorship money, is one in a string of many that the drivers have to face. “I went to Formula Asia with money to do just two races,” Chandok says. This money for his first international series, came from JK Tyres, and the fact that he won the first two races convinced them to sponsor his next two outings, which he won again, before Kingfisher stepped in and funded the rest of his season. While Chandhok’s talent has never been in question, time and again it’s the lack of funds which has let him down.
A couple of years down the line, Chandhok was still feeling the effects of insufficient funds. He recalls a British F3 test session in Wales, 2004 when he was driving for T-Sport, “During the test session, when I was on my 40th set of tyres, guys like Nelson Piquet Jr. and Heikki Kovalainen were already past their 100th set. Which means they got in twice the amount of testing on twice the number of tyres.”
Moreover, when trying to establish oneself in international motorsport, the leap from rupees to euros can be daunting. Taking part in Formula Rolon Chevrolet, the highest category of single-seater racing in India, costs approximately Rs 6-7 lakh. Formula Asia costs around Rs 70 lakh, British Formula 3 costs half a million pound sterling (approximately Rs 4 crore) and GP2, 1.7 million euros (around Rs 11 crore). All of which makes raising money even more of an arduous a task.
For an Indian company that is looking to build an association with Formula One, having their logo emblazoned on a car driven by an Indian will provide them with plenty of visibility during the two hours that audiences, Indian in particular tune into F1 every race weekend. Now picture this very same scenario, only transplant it from Monza or Spa, to the race track at Greater Noida. You have an Indian driver, backed by Indian sponsors at the Indian GP. The brand value could very well skyrocket, and this thought process might aid Chandok to a spot on the grid. Thanks to Force India, more Indians have warmed up to the sport. Having an Indian driver in the sport will fuel more spectator interest for sure. As an Indian attempting to break into Formula One in 2010, one year before the inaugural Indian GP, Chandhok just may finally be at the right place at the right time. But is there anyone out there listening?