Chandhok's star on the rise in GP2

Dubai: With the European GP2 Series in full swing, Indian driver Karun Chandhok is aiming for another stunning display at this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest, after recently turning heads at both Silverstone and Hockenhiem.

The 24-year-old from Chennai - a test driver for Formula One team Red Bull - has seen his racing career sky rocket of late, proving F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone right in his prediction of a bright future for the 2007 Most Improved Driver of the Year in the GP2 Series.

The iSport International driver passed the chequered flag first in Germany on July 20 to clinch his second ever win in the Formula One feeder event. Starting in pole, clutch problems let Lucas di Grassi of Barwa International Campos Team take the lead as Chandhok fell to second but soon took the edge on his rival. Once leading, he came under pressure from Andi Zuber of Piquet Sports but held out to finish first.

"Germany worked out really well for us. For some reason we struggled as a team in qualifying but then made the right changes for the races and our pace was a lot better on Saturday and Sunday," Chandhok told Gulf News.

"The team and I both took away some good lessons from the race [at Silverstone] and that translated into our first win in Hockenheim this weekend.

"It was certainly a lot of pressure because he [Zuber] was never more than a second away. My engineer Richard Selwin did a great job of keeping me constantly up to date with information. He kept telling me how close or far Zuber was and was giving me info about the sector times which was very useful."

Problems qualifying

At the Silverstone Grand Prix, Chandhok started 10th on the grid after a problematic qualifying session but picked off Kamui Kobayashi, Andy Soucek, Luca Filippi, Andi Zuber, Ramain Grosjean and teammate Bruno Senna to step onto the podium in third place.

"Silverstone was an important race for me because to start 10th and finish third having overtaken a number of cars along the way was a great confidence boost," said Chandhok.

After winning at Belguim's Spa-Francorchamps circuit last year for his old team Durango, Chandhok got a career break when selected to the Red Bull Formula One (RBR) test team and retained the position this year. The star, however, has not giving anything away regarding a prospective call up to Formula One next year.

"At the moment Mark [Webber] and [Sebastian] Vettel are confirmed with RBR for 2009 although the seats at the sister-team Torro Rosso are still up for grabs. Red Bull are a great sponsor to have and have been very supportive of me but we have to wait and see where things go - it's still a bit early for decisions on 2009."

Chandhok began his career in his home country India. The Madras driver became the National Racing Champion in 2000, and still holds the record of seven victories, as well as recording pole and fastest lap in all ten races He went on to become the youngest ever Asian Formula Champion with Team India Racing.

Now edging into the upper reaches of international motorsport, he is aware of the rising profile of the sport in his home nation, including the prospect of a grand prix being held in New Delhi in 2010.

Recognisable face

"Having a Grand Prix in India will go a long way to improve the understanding and awareness of the sport, but don't forget, the public ultimately want a face they can look to and I think much like (Fernando) Alonso in Spain, (Robert) Kubica in Poland or (Lewis) Hamilton in the UK it's going to be important to have an Indian driver that they can support to generate a large audience."

Currently battling for third place in the Championships and heading to the Hungary GP2 in Budapest, all eyes will be on the young star as he aims to continue his winning form.

The 24-year-old from Chennai - a test driver for Formula One team Red Bull - has seen his racing career sky rocket of late...