Force India owner Vijay Mallya is refusing to bow to pressure to put an Indian driver in his team. The multi-millionaire claims he has come under intense criticism for so far failing to give an opportunity to an Indian
Force India owner Vijay Mallya is refusing to bow to pressure to put an Indian driver in his team. The multi-millionaire claims he has come under intense criticism for so far failing to give an opportunity to an Indian.
At present there are two Indian drivers involved in Formula One, yet Mallya has not felt the inclination to recruit either.
Karun Chandhok is currently test and reserve driver for Team Lotus, whilst Narain Karthikeyan returned to F1 this season with Hispania Racing, only to make way for young Australian star Daniel Ricciardo at Sunday's British Grand Prix. With India due to host its inaugural grand prix in October, Mallya will not be bowed into making changes, and will only act when the time is right.
"I have been involved in Indian motorsport for over 30 years, and I have done whatever I reasonably could to promote sport in India," said Mallya. "I take some credit for the fact I put an Indian Formula One team on the grid, something which nobody believed could ever happen.
"So I have done my job for my country, for the 100s of millions of young, aspirational Indians in terms of Formula One.
"Now to be criticised, largely by the Indian folks, that I don't have an Indian driver is just blatantly unfair. My only response to them would be that I know more about Formula One than they do.
"It is why I've launched a one in a billion hunt, a serious effort to really find Indian talent.
"You can't pick up a kid and put him in a Formula One car in a year or two. It's going to take time."
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