Indian drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok have no dearth of talent, but they have to work on their adjustment skills to be successful in Formula One, according to former F1 ace David Coulthard.
“You have great drivers like Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok, who are full of confidence and have good potential.
Karun is racing in GP2. But then it would be difficult to say how they would perform if you put them in the (F1) car,” Coulthard said.
ADVERTISEMENT
“When a driver moves from one form of racing to another, it becomes altogether difficult to comment how he would perform in the new stage,” said the 38-year-old former ‘Red Bull’ racer.
Coulthard was also not ready to buy the sentiment that the Vijay Mallya-owned F1 team Force India should have given a chance to Chandhok after Giancarlo Fisichella switched loyalty to Ferrari team in the middle of the season.
“It’s not on the basis of nationality you people should decide, but on the basis of skills and potential.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Local support is very important for any country and a local driver would be a great thing, but then you have to think—Is he (the driver) good enough for the highest level? Is he capable of performing under pressure?” Coulthard said.
“You have to also think upon the business point of view.
Lots of money is involved in this game and you have to market your team. You have to be at your best to be in the limelight.
So the decision should be taken accordingly and it all depends on the team owners whom they want to race in,” Coulthard said.
Coulthard, who is highest scorer among British drivers and one of the eight racers to have taken part in more than 200 races, welcomed the idea of day-night racing.
“There are different angles and you have to be really careful about every time to watch things closely. Sometimes it was completely dark. You may face difficulty during turns.
But, then new concepts are always welcome and innovation is the need of the day,” he said.
The experienced racer also advised the youngsters to always trust their cars and not to be over-confident as at the end of the day it’s the speed machine that wins the race.
“Driver’s influence is one of the main factors to be successful, but the success of the car is of prime importance.