Lotus reserve driver Karun Chandhok yesterday said it will be painful for him to watch the inaugural Indian Grand Prix from the sidelines after his team decided to go with the regular drivers line-up of the season
Lotus reserve driver Karun Chandhok yesterday said it will be painful for him to watch the inaugural Indian Grand Prix from the sidelines after his team decided to go with the regular drivers line-up of the season.
Karun Chandhok
Chandhok was confident of getting the nod for the race Sunday but Team Lotus management stuck to the more experienced drivers in Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen.
The Indian, however, will drive on the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) in Friday's practice session. The development also means that Hispania's Narain Karthikeyan will be the sole Indian to take part in the 60-lap race.
The Chennai-based driver said he was disappointed to miss out on the race especially after featuring regularly in the last three practice sessions in Singapore, Japan and Korea.
"It will be painful to watch the race from the paddock. It is a huge disappointment," Chandhok told IANS.
"My preparation was on track leading up to the home race. I was driving regularly in the practice sessions leading up to the Indian Grand Prix and was faster than the Hispania and Virgin Racing drivers.
"So I was confident that the team would would give me another opportunity on the race day but I respect their decision," said Chandhok, who last drove in the German Grand Prix.u00a0
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