• HRT

'It's going to be a bloody tough weekend' - Chandhok

March 10, 2010 « Concerns grow over slow newcomers | Identity of White Stig revealed »

HRT's new signing Karun Chandhok has admitted he faces a "tough weekend" and that as far as his team is concerned the season will not start until Barcelona in May.

There have been concerns that HRT will arrive in Bahrain with two cars which have never been driven on a track, and Chandhok admitted it would not be easy. "We haven't even done a shakedown, so it's no secret it is going to be a bloody tough weekend," he told Autosport. "I think if you look on the plus side, at least Dallara are a respected manufacturer and they have built cars before, so we should be in a slightly better position than if it was with someone else doing it independently.

"Friday is going to be very tough to get the cars to do some runs. This weekend is just about reliability and literally getting mileage rather than performance.

"I think the only thing we can do is think that over the first four weekends there is nothing to gain. You can only lose by doing something stupid. I think the first four weekends are just about being respectable, being credible, trying to just establish ourselves as mature drivers who are ready to be in F1."

There have also been comments about Chandhok's lack of experience, with accusations he only got the drive because of the money his association with the team would bring. His only significant experience has come in three unimpressive seasons in GP2.

"We are two rookies here, so we need as much mileage as possible. Every lap we do is going to be important to learn

"We had plenty of options on the table, but really I felt ready to do F1," he said. "We had a bit of a rubbish season in GP2 last year but that was down to circumstance more than anything else. I felt myself, personally, I was ready to do F1.

"Both my dad and I were clear in our minds that if we had to make the break, then this year was our best chance because there were new seats available. Once you got past this year then the system reverts to normal and everything goes back to its place again. You don't know if those drivers will roll on to 2011, so this year presented a prime opportunity and here we are."

And what does he think of complaints HRT should not even be allowed on the grid? "I've stopped reading the media as much as possible, but there have been a lot of comments that have come recently. In all honesty, I can appreciate these concerns to some extent because if I was in their situation then I would be concerned as well.

"The last thing you want in Q3, on the last lap when the circuit has cleaned up, is to get someone in your way. But first of all I would be amazed if any of the new teams get to Q3. And secondly, at the end of the day I am quite fortunate in that I have a great respect and a great sense of history in F1 and I remember not so long ago, just look at the early 2000s, the gap between the front and the back wasn't like it is now.

"At the end of the day, the more cars there are on the grid and the more independent teams there are I don't think it is a bad thing."

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