How Chandhok has earned his place in F1

With Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton hauling the hopes of the British crowd around on their shoulders at Silverstone this weekend, there's a strong argument for sharing the load with a third man. Living a stone's throw - albeit a mighty 10-mile one - from Silverstone, Karun Chandhok can legitimately claim to be the real home hero at the British Grand Prix. While hardly a victory contender - a finish in the top dozen would be as good as a sensational win for the Chennai-born 26-year-old - he's sure to have his own band of supporters this weekend.

Beyond mere geographical proximity, he is also a Silverstone luminary. It's very common for drivers climbing their way through the junior categories in Britain to work as instructors at race schools, and in his British Formula 3 days Karun worked regularly at Silverstone. Even now he's a bona fide Formula 1 driver, it's difficult to keep him away from the track - he turned up for the FIA World GT1 Championship-supporting British F3 races a few months ago and again at the recent MotoGP meeting.