FEBRUARY 3, 2012

Karthikeyan completes F1 grid at HRT

Narain Karthikeyan has secured the last seat on the 2012 F1 grid and will partner Pedro de la Rosa at HRT.

Narain Karthikeyan has secured the last seat on the 2012 F1 grid and will partner Pedro de la Rosa at HRT.

Karthikeyan drove the first eight races of the 2011 season for HRT before standing down in favour of Red Bull prot©g© Daniel Ricciardo for the second half of the season. He returned in a one-off appearance at the inaugural Indian GP, where he placed 17th, equaling his best finish for the team.

"It has taken a lot of hard work to make this happen but I am absolutely elated to feature on the 2012 grid," Karthikeyan said.

"I was pleased with our strong performance at the Indian Grand Prix in front of my passionate home fans and I look forward to building on this result in 2012. I have been training hard since the end of 2011, ensuring I was ready if an opportunity arose.

"With the new management, Pedro, and the team, there is definite potential for progress. We need to understand that F1 is new to India, we hosted our first race only last year, which was a resounding success. To build on that momentum, an Indian driver will certainly keep the interest engaged throughout the season."

HRT returns to action next week at the first official pre-season test at Jerez, where De la Rosa will drive. Karthikeyan is scheduled to test for the first time at the second test in Barcelona from February 21-24.