The Hindu : Sport : Look out for car No. 19

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 06, 2005

Sport

Sport

Look out for car No. 19

By Narain Karthikeyan

The Saturday before each race day was going to be — and will be — a very important day in the entire qualifying process. There are two practice sessions and then the very important first qualifying session. I finished ninth overall after the first qualifying session and am quite pleased with my performance.

With the weather playing havoc, everyone had an added problem to deal with and this really skewed the timings a lot.

Being my first qualifying session, I was determined to do well and try not to let the weather conditions bother us too much. We came up with a game plan and stuck to it. With the track conditions a little slippery, I did slide a couple of times but managed to stay focussed.

It has been a great and hectic week so far in Melbourne. I gave my first official interview and shared the podium with other drivers like Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya.

There has been a lot of support for me from the driver fraternity and that is very heartening. My learning curve is going up and up and up and though it is a dream come true to be rubbing shoulders with these great names, I cannot remain in awe of them and have to focus on my tasks.

As a team, we have set realistic targets and the most immediate is to finish races and be competitive. It's very important that we become a team to be reckoned with and capable. Once we reach there, then it will be a question of pushing for points and podium finishes. Tiago Monteiro, my teammate, is a very capable driver and though he was slightly slower than me, he is looking good.

As far as positions go on the starting grid, it all depends on the qualifying sessions on Sunday, before the race. But final positions will be reached after aggregating the times from both qualifying rounds. The forecast is also ominous but we are focussed and will give it our best shot.

The support from the media, especially from India, has been staggering. A few media representatives have come to cover the race and it's always good to see that, especially for a sport like Formula 1. I am very excited about my first race! Look out for car No. 19.

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