The Sports-India Community

"I think today we've both matured and understand that this is the way things are. We respect each others ability and that helps to make sure that even though certain sections like to hype up a 'feud' between us, we manage to diffuse that."

"He (Narain) is a very talented driver with loads of experience. A few months ago I had said that he would be one of the favourites in A1 GP."

"I certainly expected him to win races and so it wasn't a surprise for me when he won in China. The reality is that he is a good driver with a good team around him, so why shouldn't he win?"

GP2 Series: Karun, congratulations on your first podium for the year, and obviously Ocean Racing's first podium of the year...

Karun Chandhok: Their first podium ever! [laughs] It was a reasonable race: in the first part we had the same pace as the first two guys, and then I started to struggle for traction from the middle of the race. I was doing similar lap times to Zuber, even in the middle part, but then we saw it drop away towards the end, just struggling in the second and third sector: the first sector was still quicker all through the race, but we were just struggling in the traction zones. But we got the points in the end, and it wasn't the most exciting race: I think the most exciting part was me running around, trying to find the toilet at the start! I found toilet number four eventually was open! [laughs] That's been the most exciting part of the day! The main thing is this is a great result for the team: they've worked so hard this year and been bloody unlucky, as everybody knows, so it's nice that they've got a nice shiny pot to take back to Portugal with them this weekend.

GP2 Series: It was one of those races where everyone has the pace but the grid just stretches across the race...

Karun: Yeah, it's one of those nothing races! [laughs] I think Silverstone is a bit like that: the first half of the lap means that the guys following destroy their tyres while following, and therefore they can't overtake. That's just the way it is around here: I had the same problem here yesterday with Grosjean, I just destroyed the front tyres and that was it.

GP2 Series: As you say, a nice shiny pot for the team, and their first one: how much of a lift will this give them?

Karun: Yeah, it's great for them: I think they're all really motivated, especially after Monaco because they felt, and rightly so, that they all deserved something from there, so I'm glad that they finally got something. We're pushing like hell, and the main thing is we've earnt respect and credibility now as a new team: I think everybody up and down this pitlane thinks we're a genuine, front running team now. We're quick in practice, we should have been P3 and P4 in qualifying if not for the traffic, we're a genuine, front-running team, and hopefully now our fortunes have changed in terms of luck and we can keep pushing from here.