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Narain Karthikeyan clears the air on Spyker issue

Coimbatore: Williams F-1 Test driver, Narain Karthikeyan, drove home the point that he was neither lost out nor left out in the cold when it came to the Spyker deal.

In a chat with The Hindu, the Coimbatore-based Indian driver affirmed that he did get an offer from Spyker boss Colin Kolles to drive in F-1 for the remainder of the season but chose to stay out to enhance his career options.

On Thursday, the Silverstone-based Spyker decided to run Japanese driver Sakon Yamomoto for the remaining seven races of the F1 season. A lot was said about Narain promising to bring in the sponsors to Spyker but could not compete with Yamomoto’s late bid, which was estimated at 22m dollars. “It was not true. It was neither because of the budget nor my relationship with Colin’s, which was portrayed in a bad manner, that I stayed out. I repeat, it was just to enhance my career options that my agent took the decision, and I said ok,” said Narain.

He said that it was a friendly meeting with Colin’s at Silverstone that set the tone for the Spyker deal. “He did call me to his room and offered me a drive. It was a great offer, and financially very, very good by F1 standards. Obviously, I needed some backing from my sponsors. They did not hesitate. They were ready to back me if I felt it was right. In between, there was a period of calm. It was here that I saw the bigger picture and realised that I was actually doing what I did in 2005,” said Narain.

He said at one point of time he was too tempted with the offer. “Colin’s respects me as a driver. And, I felt returning to F1 was a good idea. The offer was so good to resist that we even went to the extent of talking to the Williams team. But, it was just those circumstances that it did not happen. Now, I have decided to save the sponsorship for the future, may be next year or so. However, Narain did not rule out the options of striking the deal with Spyker next season. “With Mike Gascoigne, the man who was responsible for resurrecting the Renaults and the Toyotas, having joined Spyker it should be good in every way for the team,” said Narain.

Though F1 remains his priority, Narain will also be chipping his part for A1 Team India in this year’s A1 Grand Prix. “I would be doing the official A1 test at Silverstone next month. A1 Team India is restructured this time. They have a new car and very experienced engineers and mechanics. The team will also have a new seat holder, which will be announced shortly.”

Narain said that he would be driving for the team in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic rounds, but assured that his commitment with the Williams would continue.

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