Chandhok to replace Trulli at the Nurburgring
Karun Chandhok is to get a race outing with Team Lotus in Germany this week, with Jarno Trulli standing aside to give the Indian driver his first full Grand Prix weekend since he competed for HRT at last year’s Silverstone round.
“Ever since I first joined the team I have been looking forward to this opportunity and I am determined to do my best to repay their faith in me and help the team progress, this season and for many years to come,” said Chandhok, who joined Lotus as their reserve in March and has since made four Friday practice appearances for the team.
“I am approaching the weekend in a very realistic frame of mind. I will be doing my best to push and to make sure I learn as much as possible all weekend, take each session as it comes and work as closely as I can with the engineers and the whole team to do the best job I can. Whatever happens, I am very excited about lining up on the grid on Sunday and I know there will be millions of Indian fans, and Team Lotus fans around the world, who will be behind me and the whole team, so I will do the best I can to give them something to cheer for.”
Trulli, currently negotiating an extension to his Lotus contract, will be on hand to lend Chandhok support and assistance for what will be his 11th Grand Prix start and his first at the Nurburgring.
“I’m looking forward to working with Karun this weekend and doing whatever I can to help him get the most out of his opportunity in Germany,” said Trulli. “It’s great that the team is true to its word of helping develop young talent, particularly from parts of the word where it is even harder to break through into the top rung of motorsport, so I’ll be there to give him guidance and assistance, in and out of the car.”
Commenting on Lotus’s decision, team principal Tony Fernandes said: “Ever since I first met Karun I have been impressed with his whole demeanour - he is talented, passionate, committed and he brings great energy to the whole team so I am delighted that we are giving him the chance to add even more value to us in the cockpit over a whole race weekend.
“One of the key goals of Team Lotus is to provide a stepladder to the top of world motorsport for talent from all over the world and we have been true to that philosophy since the first days of the team. For Formula One to continue to develop globally we need to keep creating new opportunities for talent from around the world to reach the top and Team Lotus will continue to do its best to support that.”
Trulli has been unable to match the performance of team mate Heikki Kovalainen this season and has made no secret of his struggle with the T128’s power-steering system, which does not provide the level of feel he would like. However, with a new system imminent, improvement is expected soon.
“He (Trulli) is a key member of our team and I hope that we can give him a car as soon as possible that allows him to utilise his considerable talent to the full,” added Fernandes.
Credit: Formula One Administration Ltd (www.formula1.com)
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