Why Karthikeyan went back to HRT

There is no harsher environment than the rear of the Formula 1 grid when it comes to the piercing glare of public perception.

Those struggling at the back in sub-par machinery are badly exposed. Doing a great job might leave you on the 11th row of the grid, and a mediocre job right at the back, but to the watching world you are often dismissed as a no-hoper. Usually, you will only get air-time when being lapped or something has gone wrong, making you appear more of a nuisance than a true competitor.

That has been the lot of Narain Karthikeyan throughout the majority of his 27-race grand prix career. He has battled with machinery capable only of scoring points in exceptional circumstances with his only mark on the scoreboard coming courtesy of his fourth place for Midland-owned Jordan in the six-car 2005 United States Grand Prix. On his return last year with HRT, a trio of 17th places were as good as it got.

So to re-sign for a team that is likely to spend 2012 striving in the same region of the grid might seem akin to masochism. But Karthikeyan doesn't see it that way. He isn't fooling himself about the scale of the challenge ahead. But at the very least, he wants to show people that he is capable of being a very fast grand prix driver.

Indeed, those who dismiss him as a pay driver no-hoper should bear in mind that he has been able to show prodigious pace at times during his racing career, even though it is fair to say that he hasn't always consistently harnessed it.

Narain Karthikeyan HRT Spanish Grand Prix 2011 © LAT

"People can say that I'm here to make up the numbers and ask what's the point, but that's not the case for me," says Karthikeyan. "Whenever I get into a car, I will push as much as anyone else. We know what we have taken on and I'm very happy to be driving in F1.

"If the car is decent then you can do something, but if you are fighting at the back no-one really takes any notice. You are directly compared to your team-mate but only a few other cars, like the Virgins last year.

"All you can say when you drive for a team that might not be fighting at the front is that you have to try and get the most out of it."

But while Karthikeyan was determined to continue to chase the F1 dream, it's fair to say that he wouldn't have signed up for HRT for another year without assurances that debacles like the failure to qualify for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix wouldn't be repeated.

HRT has an all-new car in the works for 2012 (its 2011 machine was based on the same three chassis that Dallara produced for it for the previous year) and under new owners Thesan Capital he believes that the team does have a long-term future.

It's not going to be easy and it's hard to see him getting anywhere near a point with the machinery likely to be at his disposal, but he is not unaccustomed to striving to succeed in far from perfect circumstances. He sees that determination, which is going to be a key asset in the season ahead, as his biggest strength.

"To have pursued F1 this long coming from India has always been difficult," he says. "It has never been a walk in a park. I believe in myself, I've won in most of the categories I've raced in and given a good car I know that I can be competitive."

On the evidence of last year, that's not an unreasonable claim. After five seasons away from F1, a part-season in NASCAR trucks was far from the ideal preparation for an F1 comeback and it did take him a while to get back on top of the machinery.

He took in a part-season in NASCAR Trucks in 2010 - hardly ideal preparation © LAT

But while he was outqualified 6-1 in his seven outings alongside Tonio Liuzzi at the start of last season, and again by Daniel Ricciardo on his return for the Indian Grand Prix, he was still working through his re-learning curve and showed flashes of serious speed.

In fact, his performance in India, which he has admitted was key to him being able to put together a deal to stay on at HRT, was strong. After a cautious run in the early laps of the race, his pace was good for the majority of his inaugural home grand prix. So he expects to carry that momentum into the new campaign. Continuity is something he has never had in F1 before and that gives him the platform to do just that.

"I already feel so much more confident," he says. "I would like to pick up where I left off last year. The Indian Grand Prix was my best performance and if I start off at that level then pace shouldn't be a problem.

"Obviously, last year didn't go the way I wanted it to, but in India I proved what I can do. My team-mate [Ricciardo] was a confident, fast guy and to match him in most of the sessions and be ahead in the race was positive.

"I know [new team principal] Luis Perez Sala from last year and also Saul [Ruiz de Marco, HRT CEO] from the middle of last year. And I have the comfort factor of the engineers being similar to last year. Continuity is very important and something that I've never had in F1."

It's crucial Karthikeyan takes advantage of that continuity. And he also has a wider responsibility to consider. With Karun Chandhok not on the grid in 2012, he is the sole representative from what is becoming a very important new market for F1. With over one billion people and a burgeoning middle class, India is a core target for sponsors and, based on the reaction to last year's race, one that has embraced F1.

That piles the pressure on Karthikeyan, who like drivers from 'new' F1 countries before him has often suffered from unfavourable criticism from those who fail to take into account the quality of his machinery. Gradually, the fans are coming to terms with the fact that expectations must be adjusted and Karthikeyan will be the focal point of F1 enthusiasm this year.

Karthikeyan first competed in F1 in 2005 for Jordan © LAT

"It is certainly very important for India to have a driver on the grid to build on the success of last year's race," says Karthikeyan. "There will be a lot of support throughout the season. It's vital to have an Indian driver to represent the country in the sport.

"It's difficult to ensure that the expectations are realistic in an emerging market but people are becoming more and more aware of what F1 is and that the car plays a huge role in the results of the driver, that it's not only about the driver's capabilities."

Which brings us back to the thorny issue of the car. It is hoped that the new HRT will be ready to run in the second pre-season test that takes place at Barcelona on February 21-24. This is on the proviso that it makes it through the mandatory FIA crash tests in time.

With the experience of Pedro de la Rosa, whose role with the team appears to stretch way beyond being a mere driver, in the car the potential is there for development given the resources. The key will be whether owners Thesan Capital make good on their promise to invest in order to get HRT firmly established in F1 after two years of struggle.

Karthikeyan's previous two campaigns have been with teams in a state of transition, but he is more optimistic about what he has seen with Thesan.

"In some ways, it's a similar position to where I have been in the past in F1," he says. "But I definitely see this as more a more positive approach. The seats in F1 are limited and to be driving here at all is a good thing, but there are also some very good ideas here so we should be in good shape."

Clearly, Karthikeyan sees this as a long-term plan. Inevitably, for a 35-year-old without an eye-catching F1 CV, opportunities were very limited and he is determined to make the most of this chance to extend his grand prix career and remind everyone that there is speed to back up his sponsorship.

After all, he accepts that if this deal hadn't happened, he would almost certainly have been finished with F1.