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Journalism of Courage
It wasn’t a very good end to Narain Karthikeyan’s Formula One experience this season. Not that he had a great outing throughout, but the Sanghai disaster could possibly make it that much more difficult for the Indian ace to be back.
Nobody in the know of Formula One happenings is ruling him out, though if a probability factor is worked out, the climb has become that much more difficult.
The bigger problem will, of course, be for the youngsters on the block, trying to reach up to the hallowed tracks of Formula One. The A1 is cruising, pretty much in isolation, and sans the drumbeats that one expected it would generate.
Therein are two Indian youngsters, Karun Chandhok, and Armaan Ebrahim, who, apart from their other racing assignments, are also representing Team India.
The big bucks in F1 are attracted by, that’s right, big sponsors. The script has changed a bit on the course from the good old days and money needs to be pumped in to get purchase on the big cars. Narain had the benefit of a number of sponsors. Reports are that the sponsors have so far stuck. The worry, though, is that if an icon isn’t the by-product of such huge investment, the juice is sure to dry out.
That leaves the aspiring rookies pretty much alone. Chandhok is ambitious and Armaan has oodles of talent. It leaves a narrow lane for development that needs to be watched. There could be big collateral damage in not pushing support to Narain.
