Karun Chandhok (born 19 January 1984) is an Indian racing driver and television presenter who last competed in
Formula E for
Mahindra Racing
Mahindra Racing is a motor racing team based in Banbury, United Kingdom, competing with an Indian racing licence. The team is currently competing in the electric FIA Formula E Championship since the inaugural season in 2014. The team formerly co ...
. Previously, Chandhok has competed for
Hispania Racing
HRT Formula 1 Team, formerly known as Campos Meta 1 and Hispania Racing, was a Spanish Formula One team founded by former driver Adrián Campos. It was sold to José Ramón Carabante before its debut in 2010, and then to investment group ...
in
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
in . Before this, he drove in the
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccles ...
for three years, winning two races. In 2013, Chandhok competed in the
FIA GT Series
The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, officially known as Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS for sponsorship reasons, formerly the FIA GT Series, is a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) w ...
for Seyffarth Motorsport.
Prior to his time in GP2, Chandhok won the Formula Asia championship in 2001 and was the inaugural
Formula Asia V6 by Renault
Formula Asia V6 Renault, renamed Formula V6 Asia in 2007 by Motorsport Asia, was launched in 2006 and regulated by Motorsport Asia. It was a Formula Renault 3.5 that include also World Series by Renault and the former Formula Renault V6 Eurocup. ...
champion in 2006. Since leaving F1, Chandhok has served as an analyst, co-commentator and pit-lane reporter for a variety of British broadcasters. Since 2019, he has been a member of the
Sky Sports F1
Sky Sports F1 is a television channel created exclusively for Sky's UK and Ireland coverage of Formula One, with Sky having a package of rights from the 2012 season to the 2029 season. From 2012 to 2029, Sky Sports F1 has the exclusive rights ...
live coverage team.
Chandhok has contributed to several motorsport governing bodies. Since 2021, he has served on the Board of Directors of
Motorsport UK
Motorsport UK, formerly known as the Motor Sports Association (MSA), is a national membership organisation and governing body for four-wheel motorsport in the United Kingdom. Legally, it is a not-for-profit private company limited by guarantee.
...
, where he has also been a member of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He is also a member of the
FIA
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backs ...
Driver's Commission.
Early career
Chandhok was born in Madras (present-day
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
),
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
and is the son of
Vicky Chandhok
Vicky Bharat Chandhok (born 7 April 1957) is an Indian racing driver and motorsport administrator. He was the president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) from 2003 to 2005 and from 2010 to 2013. During his second stint as ...
, multiple Indian rallying champion and president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India since 2003. His younger brother
Suhail Chandhok is a commentator for
Star Sports India.
In 2000, Chandhok was Indian National Racing Champion winning seven out of ten races in the
Formula Maruti
Formula Maruti is a single-seater, open-wheel class in motorsport made and raced in India. Many of the top teams in Indian motorsports have run in the series, including Team Lakshmi Mills Superspeeds, Team JK, Team MRF, Gabriel Racing, WSRF Ra ...
series. He scored pole position and fastest lap in all ten races. In 2001, Chandhok was the Formula 2000 Asia champion, becoming the youngest ever Asian Formula Champion, driving for Team India Racing.
Chandhok tested with
British Formula 3 champion team
Carlin Motorsport
Carlin, formerly Carlin Motorsport, is a motor racing team based in the United Kingdom. It currently competes in five championships: FIA Formula 2 Championship, FIA Formula 3 Championship, F4 British Championship, BRDC British Formula 3 and ...
in 2001. He raced in the National class in 2002, driving for
T-Sport, finishing sixth in class. He stayed with T-Sport in the National Class for 2003, and finished third in the final class standings, behind champion
Ernesto Viso
Ernesto José "E. J." Viso Lossada (born March 19, 1985) is a Venezuelan professional racing driver. He has raced in the 2005 and 2006 GP2 Series seasons, and has also driven the third car for Spyker MF1 Racing. In 2007 he competed in the GP2 S ...
and runner-up
Steven Kane
Steven Kane (born 5 June 1980) is a British racing driver who currently competes in the Blancpain Endurance Series and Avon Tyres British GT Championship for M-Sport Bentley driving a Bentley Continental GT3.
Career
Kane, who was born in Ne ...
. In 2004 Chandhok stepped up to the main British Formula 3 class with T-Sport, and finished 14th in the standings.
He was instantly a top 5 qualifier and finisher when he partnered his compatriot
Narain Karthikeyan
Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan (born 14 January 1977) is an Indian racing driver. He was the first Indian driver to compete in Formula One.
He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He has won multiple races in A1GP, British F ...
at
RC Motorsport
RC Motorsport was an auto racing team based in Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territ ...
in the
World Series by Nissan
The World Series Formula V8 3.5, formerly the World Series by Nissan from 1998 to 2004, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series from 2005 to 2015 and the Formula V8 3.5 in 2016 and 2017, was a motor racing series promoted by RPM Racing (1998–2004) and R ...
for the final two rounds the 2004 season.
With Karthikeyan moving on to Formula One in 2005, Chandhok raced part-season in the revised
Formula Renault 3.5 Series with RC Motorsport. He was the first driver to represent
A1 Team India
A1 Team India was the Indian team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series.
Management
The seatholder for Team India was former Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan.
Argo racing Cars Ltd. were the Technical Servicer Provider for A1 ...
in
A1 Grand Prix
A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most for ...
at the beginning of the
2005–06 season, before handing over to
Armaan Ebrahim for the remainder of the season.
In 2006 he became champion of the first ever
Formula Asia V6 by Renault
Formula Asia V6 Renault, renamed Formula V6 Asia in 2007 by Motorsport Asia, was launched in 2006 and regulated by Motorsport Asia. It was a Formula Renault 3.5 that include also World Series by Renault and the former Formula Renault V6 Eurocup. ...
Championship, taking seven race wins and nine pole positions from 12 races.
GP2 Series
Chandhok moved to the
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccles ...
in
2007, driving for
Durango. Chandhok's first win in GP2 came in the sprint race at the
Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has he ...
circuit in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. Chandhok also led the sprint race in Turkey after starting from pole, only for the second place
Kazuki Nakajima
is a retired Japanese professional racing driver who drove in Formula One for the Williams-Toyota team from to . In 2012 and 2014, he won the Super Formula Championship driving for TOM'S. Racing for Toyota Gazoo Racing, he won the 2018, 2019 a ...
of
DAMS
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
to collide with him. The collision resulted in retirement for Chandhok while Nakajima was given a drive-through penalty.
Chandok got his biggest career break in November with a call up from the
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing, also simply known as Red Bull or RBR and currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing, is a Formula One racing team, racing under an Austrian licence and based in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Formula One teams owned ...
Formula One team to test for them over two days at the
Circuit de Catalunya
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya () is a motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has stan ...
in Barcelona on 13–14 November.
Chandhok remained in GP2 for 2008, switching to the
iSport International
iSport International was a British motor racing team that competed in the GP2 Series. The team was founded by Paul Jackson, Gavin Bickerton-Jones and Richard Selwin, former members of the Petrobras Junior Team in 2004, ahead of the inaugural ...
team where he was partnered by
Bruno Senna
Bruno Senna Lalli (, born 15 October 1983) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He is the nephew of the late Ayrton Senna, three-time Formula One world champion. He is also the first man to win a race in every WEC class, and was the 2017 W ...
. He won one race and finished tenth in the drivers' championship. He also drove for the team in the
2008 GP2 Asia Series season
The 2008 GP2 Asia Series season was the first GP2 Asia Series season. It started on 25 January and ended on 12 April.
Season summary
Romain Grosjean became the champion despite his teammate Stephen Jelley scoring no points, with their team, AR ...
. After winning one race and finishing tenth in the championship, Chandhok was presented with the series' "Best Driving Style" award at the end of the season.
In November, Chandhok became the first Indian driver to be invited to join the
British Racing Drivers' Club
The British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) is an exclusive invitation-only members club for racecar drivers who are judged to have achieved success in the upper levels of motor sport for a number of seasons. Except under exceptional circumstances, me ...
. India's membership of the
Commonwealth entitles him to be a member.
Chandhok signed to drive for the
Ocean Racing Technology team in the
2009 GP2 Series season
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
. Even though the deal with ORT was for the pan-European series, Chandhok also drove in the final round of the
2008–09 GP2 Asia Series season, in
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
replacing
Yelmer Buurman
Yelmer Evert Frans Buurman (born 19 February 1987) is a Dutch professional racing driver. He was 3rd in the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2013, and second in the FIA GT1 Championship in 2012. Besides achieving victories in those categories, also ...
. Chandhok amassed ten points in the championship, with a best result of third at
Silverstone. He and teammate
Álvaro Parente
Álvaro Parente (born 4 October 1984) is a Portuguese professional racing driver.
Career
Early career
After winning the Karting European Junior Championship in 1998, Porto-born Parente made his debut in auto racing in 2001 at the age of 16, ...
suffered a testing season, with sixteen retirements between them.
Formula One
Force India links
Chandhok was linked with the
Force India team, which was created in . It was an Indian registered-team formerly owned by a friend of the family,
Vijay Mallya
Vijay Vittal Mallya (born 18 December 1955) is an Indian businessman, former politician and fugitive. He is the subject of an extradition effort by the Indian Government to return him from the UK to face charges of financial crimes in India.
T ...
. After the team's driver,
Giancarlo Fisichella, moved from Force India to
Ferrari during the
2009 season, Chandhok was briefly linked with the seat, with long-time supporter
Bernie Ecclestone supporting him. The team's test driver,
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Vitantonio "Tonio" Liuzzi (born 6 August 1980) is an Italian professional racing driver who formerly raced in Formula One for the Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT teams.
Karting
Born in Locorotondo, BA, Apulia, Liuzzi, like many au ...
, was instead promoted to the race seat.
Chandhok said in
Autosport, on 11 June 2010, that he was targeting a move to Force India for . Chandhok believed that the commercial benefits for the team running an Indian driver make him an obvious choice.
HRT (2010)
Chandhok began the season driving for
Hispania Racing
HRT Formula 1 Team, formerly known as Campos Meta 1 and Hispania Racing, was a Spanish Formula One team founded by former driver Adrián Campos. It was sold to José Ramón Carabante before its debut in 2010, and then to investment group ...
alongside former GP2 teammate
Bruno Senna
Bruno Senna Lalli (, born 15 October 1983) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He is the nephew of the late Ayrton Senna, three-time Formula One world champion. He is also the first man to win a race in every WEC class, and was the 2017 W ...
, becoming the second Indian driver to compete in Formula One after
Narain Karthikeyan
Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan (born 14 January 1977) is an Indian racing driver. He was the first Indian driver to compete in Formula One.
He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He has won multiple races in A1GP, British F ...
in .
At Chandhok's first race, the
2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, he was unable to complete a lap in any of the free practice sessions as his car was still being completed and then suffered hydraulic problems. He was, however, able to use the qualifying session to run his
F110 for the first time. He qualified last on the grid, 1.7 seconds behind Senna, who had completed laps earlier in the meeting, and crashed out of the race after just one lap due to a large bump in the tarmac which sent him crashing into the wall. Chandhok recorded the team's first classified finish when he ended up fourteenth in
Australia. In
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
he finished 15th, and finished 17th in
China. Chandhok retired in the next three races with suspension failure in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, an accident with
Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli (; born 13 July 1974) is an Italian racing driver. He regularly competed in Formula One from 1997 to 2011, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault, Toyota, Lotus Racing and Team Lotus. His best result in the World Drivers' Cham ...
in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
and more technical problems in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. He finished 18th in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
, and 19th at
Silverstone, but was dropped for the onwards, in favour of
Sakon Yamamoto
is a Japanese racing driver turned politician. He competed in 21 Formula One Grands Prix during the , 2007 and 2010 seasons.
Before Formula One
Yamamoto was born in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture. He began his racing career in 1994 at the Suzuka ...
. For all the following races he was a co-commentator on
BBC Radio 5 Live's coverage of the sport.
Lotus (2011)
On 22 March 2011, Chandhok was confirmed as a reserve driver at
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar, and sports car racing. Mor ...
for the season. He drove the car in free practice for the , crashing out on the installation lap. He reprised his co-commentary role for BBC Radio 5 Live at the . After driving in a further three free practice sessions he replaced
Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli (; born 13 July 1974) is an Italian racing driver. He regularly competed in Formula One from 1997 to 2011, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault, Toyota, Lotus Racing and Team Lotus. His best result in the World Drivers' Cham ...
for the . He finished 20th and last, two laps behind teammate
Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish racing driver competing in the Japan Rally Championship for Rally Team AICELLO. He raced in Formula One between 2007 and 2013 for the Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus, Caterham and ...
and a lap behind 19th placed
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Joseph Ricciardo ( "Ricardo", ; born 1 July 1989) is an Italian-Australian racing driver who last raced in Formula One driving for McLaren, under the Australian flag. He made his debut at the 2011 British Grand Prix with the HR ...
. He was also 4 laps behind race winner
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...
.
Chandhok was let go by Team Lotus after the
Japanese Grand Prix
The Japanese Grand Prix ( ja, 日本グランプリ, Nihon-guranpuri) is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the Japanese Gran ...
, meaning he could not take part in his home Grand Prix 3 weeks later in India. Tony Fernandes and Chandhok came to a financial settlement, but it was not completed until April 2013.
Endurance Racing: 2012
For 2012, Chandhok drove in the
FIA World Endurance Championship for JRM Racing in a Honda Performance Development ARX-03a with co-drivers
David Brabham
David Brabham (born 5 September 1965) is an Australian professional racing driver and one of the most successful and experienced specialists in sports car racing. He has won three international Sports Car series and is one of four Australians t ...
and
Peter Dumbreck
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
. At the
Le Mans 24 Hours, Chandhok's team finished sixth overall out of the 56 starters.
FIA GT Series: 2013
Chandhok drove in the
FIA GT Series
The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, officially known as Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS for sponsorship reasons, formerly the FIA GT Series, is a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) w ...
for the 2013 season in a last minute deal for Seyffarth Racing. He was joined in the car by
Jan Seyffarth, who had been competing in the German GT series for his family run team. Chandhok joined
Armaan Ebrahim, who became the first Indian driver to be confirmed in the series.
Formula E: 2014–2015
In 2014–2015, Chandhok drove the inaugural season of
Formula E for
Mahindra Racing
Mahindra Racing is a motor racing team based in Banbury, United Kingdom, competing with an Indian racing licence. The team is currently competing in the electric FIA Formula E Championship since the inaugural season in 2014. The team formerly co ...
.
Media career
Chandhok has worked for a variety of British broadcasters as part of their coverage of Formula One including the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. As of 2021, he works for
as an analyst as well as occasional co-commentator and pit-lane reporter. He also appeared on the Channel 5 programme ''
'' as a presenter and reporter.
)
Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they had completed over 90% of the race distance.
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)