Jordan Line Up First Indian Driver in Formula One

Formula one is set to recruit its first Indian driver this week, with the 28-year-old Narain Karthikeyan close to finalising a contract to join the Jordan-Toyota squad.

Karthikeyan, from Chennai, would bring another dimension to formula one's diverse cultural texture but would also provide additional global reach for the business interests of the team's new owner, the billionaire Russian-born Alex Shnaider who last week paid an estimated $30m to buy the Silverstone-based team.

"It is a momentous day for me and it has indeed been a long journey," said Karthikeyan yesterday in Mumbai. "Today I can see my dream of becoming India's first formula one driver become a reality.

"The last 48 hours has been very tough and very hectic. We've had good news in the end, so it has eventually been worth all that."

Sponsorship estimated at $15m from India's second-largest business conglomerate, the Tata Group, and the state-run oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp, has helped secure Karthikeyan his long-hoped-for opportunity.

For Shnaider, who has steel-industry businesses in eastern Europe and central Asia, this is an opportunity to profit from his formula one investment in one of the most highly populated and commercially ripe markets in the world.

"I've raced with drivers such as Jenson Button and [Takuma] Sato before and I've beaten them on my day," said Karthikeyan as he reflected on his 1999 formula three season racing in the British championship for the team run by Trevor Carlin, who was recently appointed Jordan's sporting director. "They are doing pretty well in formula one so that gives me confidence that I too can compete."

The signing of an Indian driver is in line with the recent formula one expansion in the Asian region that is still regarded as one of the great future growth areas for the world's car manufacturers. In addition to its modest national automobile industry, multinational companies such as Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, Daewoo and Suzuki all have manufacturing plants in the country.

Karthikeyan's promotion to formula one would also give a boost to the image of Indian motorsports and could herald another grand prix joining the already crowded international calendar.

Jordan would make no comment on recent speculation that another novice, the Portuguese driver Tiago Monteiro, runner-up to Heikki Kovalainen in the Nissan world series, would be signed to take the other seat.

The signs to date are that Shnaider, who heads the Midland Resources group, is determined to stamp his identity on Jordan from the outset, well ahead of the team's planned change of name to Midland next year.

In the 10 days since Eddie Jordan sold his shares to Shnaider it is clear that the Irishman's free-wheeling and extrovert style is being replaced by a more pragmatic approach. Much as he likes formula one, Shnaider is no petrol head and intends to squeeze every ounce of commercial advantage from his investment.

Should Jordan opt for a totally new driver line-up, both men would have to complete at least 300km in testing under the watchful eye of an FIA observer in order to qualify for the mandatory super licence necessary to compete in the world championship.