- 4 months ago
Speaking at India Today’s South Conclave on Monday, September 8, India’s first-ever Formula One driver and Padma Shri awardee Narain Karthikeyan said interest in racing is growing, fuelled by the popularity of shows like Drive to Survive, which put F1 on the global map and made motorsport more accessible to the public.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00My good fortune that I get to talk to you after all that we've watched
00:03and the adrenaline that, you know, rushes in every time we see one of those videos.
00:09So I want to start talking about your early years.
00:13The city is particularly close to your heart because you've done your schooling in Coimbatore.
00:18How were the formative years of your life and how far was your father an inspiration
00:23who was a champion rally driver himself?
00:26Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for having me at India Today.
00:29I can't live. Yes, I'm very much part of this city.
00:33You know, I was born here, raised here, and until my 10th standard,
00:38studied in the Staines High Secondary School.
00:43Yeah, so, yeah, Coimbatore means a lot to me,
00:45and, you know, I've been living quite a lot away from the city,
00:50but, you know, like any modern city in India, we're, you know, fast.
00:56We're growing fast and a lot of infrastructure that's coming along.
01:01And there is even a new racetrack, which is not too far away from here.
01:06So, you know, a lot of things, exciting things are happening in Coimbatore.
01:10I want to talk more about that, but really to talk about your early years,
01:14your schooling, your father's inspiration, and to be India's first Formula One driver,
01:20it must have taken a lot given the lack of resources back in the day?
01:24Yeah, you can imagine, you know, racing right now in India, you know,
01:31has a lot of focus, especially on Formula One,
01:34because what Netflix has done to it in the last four years, of course,
01:38the Formula One movie itself.
01:40But, you know, trying to, you know, the aspiration of wanting to be a Formula One driver
01:44from Coimbatore in the 90s, where, you know, nobody had done really international motor racing.
01:51It was a huge challenge. It was definitely not a walk in the park,
01:54but I went through a lot of struggles and, you know, a lot of, you know,
02:00sometimes you miss many opportunities, but the dream, the goal,
02:04the ever-desiring goal was to, you know, become India's first Formula One driver.
02:09And, you know, the stars lined up. I had a lot of support.
02:12It's a very expensive sport. There are a lot of barriers.
02:15You're racing in Europe. You know, you are, you know, people, you know,
02:20don't, you know, in Indian and racing, you know, people were like, really?
02:25But then things changed. I had the support of Mr. Tata.
02:29The Tata group supported me.
02:31And, you know, so made it possible.
02:34I mean, the desire to get there was very, very high.
02:38And one goal, one vision was to get to F1.
02:40And that happened way back in 2005.
02:43So, you know, it was a great day for the Indian motorsport community.
02:48And ever since, we've not had a Formula One driver.
02:50We're close to getting another one, I think.
02:53But, you know, it's been quite the journey for sure.
02:58And after you tasted success of the many, many years that you spent in Europe,
03:02which would you describe as the highlights of your career that shaped your life the most?
03:10Obviously, in my early career, you know, winning in England in the Formula 3 championship,
03:15that was something that really gave me the confidence that I knew that I had what it takes to go all the way.
03:22Of course, making it to Formula One in 2005 with Eddie Jordan's Jordan Grand Prix team
03:26has to be the highlight, you know, you're racing, you know, you dream of racing against Michael Schumacher and so on.
03:34And to be really doing it was a surreal moment for sure.
03:37But, yeah, that was probably one of the best memories I've had in racing, yes.
03:45You have raced alongside the legends of global motorsport.
03:49And for any aspirant, they would crave to kind of have the global exposure that you've had.
03:56What did you take from them?
04:00You know, the commitment and the dedication of how hard these athletes work.
04:08They might be talented, but, you know, they use their talent and all the tools that are given to them
04:14in a very constructive way and focus the energies on that.
04:17That's how you achieve success.
04:19And nothing comes simple in life.
04:22Everything is, you know, you need to work hard at it.
04:25And, of course, the European and American culture of racing is so strong
04:30that the grassroot levels of racing is at a very high level.
04:36So that's why they produce a lot of young drivers and riders from those countries.
04:42How do you train your mind before you get into a race?
04:47Is there a sense of fear that creeps in, you know, of any uncertainty that lies ahead of you?
04:54How do you remember those years?
04:56Yes, racing is still a very dangerous sport.
04:58And the fear factor is always there in the back of the mind.
05:01And you have to respect the sport or else it will bite back very badly at you.
05:05Not only you, you put others at risk.
05:08But, thankfully, the tracks and the cars, you know, are all become much more safer.
05:15The last fatality in Formula 1 was way back in 10 years ago.
05:19Jules Bianchi lost his life at the Japanese Grand Prix.
05:23The accident, severe injuries led to his eventual passing away.
05:27But, you know, it's a sport where, you know, by the time I made my debut in Formula 1,
05:36fitness was something which was very, you know, there was a lot of focus on fitness.
05:41Simulators had become, you know, just started coming into the sport.
05:46And then, you know, working with your team, you have hundreds of, lots of data flowing through.
05:51So, that we make the best out of these tools and make you, make, that's what I learned.
05:56The first year of racing in Formula 1 was like nothing, like, you know, ever before.
06:02Nothing prepares you to, you know, get to Formula 1.
06:04You would have seen the movie, the, you know, the F1 movie.
06:09It's largely, loosely based on a real Formula 1 driver.
06:14And, you know, the amount of, of course, it's a bit dramatized.
06:17But then, it's largely what happens, you know, the insights of the sport is very well captured
06:23and very well, you know, you know, put together as a film.
06:27And Brad Pitt did a superb job.
06:30Since you mentioned movie, the news that is doing the rounds since the last one month,
06:35especially of your biopic that is to be made,
06:39you're India's number one Formula 1 driver.
06:42How does it feel to have a film based on your life?
06:45And what are your expectations from it?
06:47Who should play your character?
06:50I think a little bit premature to say, but the script looks quite good, actually, quite exciting.
06:57So, the journey to Formula 1 is what they're going to capture from a very young age.
07:01You know, how it happened, what happened in Coimbatore, you know, when I grew up.
07:06And it's up to the Formula 2 carrier of mine.
07:09So, who the actor is going to be, there are several options, I believe.
07:15Again, it's too early to discuss these options, but, you know, they've started finishing the script.
07:23So, hopefully, it will go into production in the next few months.
07:27Yeah, that's the...
07:28Will it be in multiple languages?
07:30Will all of India get to watch the film?
07:31I think these days, that's quite easy to do.
07:34Yeah, for sure.
07:35All right.
07:36So, lots again been spoken about how you've teamed with Ajit Kumar for the Asian D-Man series.
07:42Now, how is it to be associated with him, to work with him, both as a racer and as a person?
07:49I mean, Ajit is really, you know, very down-to-earth.
07:54He's a superstar, mega superstar.
07:55And I'll tell you what happened in Dubai three months ago.
08:02Dubai Autodrome is one of the most famous tracks in the Middle East.
08:07And he announced that he was racing in one of the series he drives in.
08:11It's the Porsche Super Cup.
08:14And that track had never seen a crowd like that ever before and ever since.
08:19So, they had 50,000 people cheering him on and so on.
08:24So, I've known Ajit for many years and he's always been interested in racing and he was a bike racer himself.
08:31Couldn't do it full-time, but, you know, he had always, he does a lot of aero modeling.
08:37So, he had the, you know, the speed bug had bitten him very early on.
08:42But, you know, for him to start, you know, representing, you know, putting together an Indian team, a truly Indian team with Indian drivers and so on was, you know, we had a discussion.
08:55We met for dinner last year in Dubai and then he had this plan and he said, you know, Naren, would you like to, you know, I'd really like you to drive with me in this team we are creating.
09:07And I brushed it off and I was like, yeah, you know, surely, you know, I'd like to do that.
09:14Nothing happened.
09:14Six months later, he called me and said, let's do this.
09:17You know, it is the Asian Le Mans series, which if you drive well and if you get certain results, you'll qualify as an Indian team to represent in the 24 hours of Le Mans in France in June.
09:30So, that's the goal, you know, we're all working hard towards it.
09:33Last 18 months, he's been putting a lot of effort into his driving.
09:39As I told you, nothing comes easy.
09:41He was very talented, gifted driver, but, you know, he has to, you know, go through the, you know, what you need to.
09:49A lot of, you know, he's had his fair share of incidents and so on, but he's come out of all of that.
09:55He's become a much better driver, very competitive driver.
09:58So, yeah, I'm really looking forward to it.
10:01Our first race is in December in Sepang in Malaysia, after which in Abu Dhabi, and then hopefully we'll qualify.
10:08And, you know, a lot of things are planned and he's a great guy, very, you know, down to earth and easy to get along with.
10:16And he wants to learn off, you know, a lot of, you know, on the driving tactics and so many other things which go with racing from professional drivers like us.
10:29Wonderful. And it's the passion for racing that brings the two of you together.
10:34In fact, he has the most wonderful things to say about you in all his interviews where he mentions you.
10:40Tell us about that first meeting that the two of you had.
10:43How long ago was it?
10:45And while he was focusing on his acting career, how did he keep in touch with you and tell you that, you know, this is something I really want to take on?
10:53Yeah. I mean, as I told you, we met way back just early 2000s.
10:59I think 2001 or 2002, by the time, of course, he'd known about me, about me racing in Formula 2 at that time, World Series, which is an equal to Formula 2.
11:11And so he, we really, we were in touch for a long time and he actually started driving in a, you know, in a professional series at that time.
11:21So I used to give him a lot of tips because I knew the tracks in England and, you know, we were, you know, constantly in touch.
11:30And that's when I knew he was a very genuine character, really down to earth and loved speed and, you know, always wanted to help the motorsport community.
11:41And he tried doing that way back in the early 2000s and then went back into acting for many years.
11:51Of course, we were, you know, always a bit, we were in touch.
11:56And then this opportunity came along and, you know, I could never say no.
12:00And it's so, so genuinely happy for him and for myself to be doing this racing together.
12:06How would you describe the state of Indian motorsport today in comparison to when you started?
12:13You know, because earlier there was a driver, there was a team, there was a Grand Prix.
12:18What is it today and how do you think we need to pull up ourselves?
12:22Yeah, like you said, you know, there was an Indian driver in me.
12:26There was an Indian team, Force India.
12:28There was an Indian Grand Prix.
12:31Now all this is gone and we are back to basics.
12:34Why? Because, you know, possibly, you know, we were, you know, it was very too early.
12:43It made, the exposure wasn't so much to the sport.
12:46It's still a very, very, very niche sport in India.
12:49But then the focus on Formula One is globally has been so big that it's also had an effect in India.
12:57And there's a lot of Formula One fans, you know, through Drive to Survive.
13:03There are a lot of subscribers for watching the Formula One races.
13:07And their fun movie has done its bit.
13:09So there are suddenly, everybody's talking about Formula One.
13:12And, you know, so I think it's only a matter of time before the motorsport ecosystem kind of, you know,
13:20gets back into its feet and starts growing.
13:22Of course, the go-karting scene in India has always been there.
13:26But, you know, parents have seen these other, you know, documentaries on F1.
13:31And now they're pushing the children or the children themselves have a lot of interest.
13:37So that's gaining a lot of momentum.
13:40But then that is the kindergarten of motorsports.
13:42Two-wheeler racing has become very popular.
13:44There are a lot of one-make series.
13:47TVS has promoted a one-make series, which is very popular.
13:50So if you see the riders and drivers in India, there are quite a few of them.
13:58It's just giving them the opportunity to go make themselves globally known.
14:03So that's going to take a bit of time.
14:05But certainly that ecosystem is getting built nicely, I feel.
14:10You've also now changed gears, turned entrepreneur with Drivex.
14:14You're wearing its shirt.
14:16How do you describe this experience?
14:18Is it like starting a whole new race altogether?
14:20It's much more difficult than racing, for sure.
14:23But it's a very competitive environment.
14:25We are in the pre-owned refurb.
14:29We built a pre-owned refurb platform for two-wheelers.
14:33And for us, fortunately, TVS Motor Company came on board.
14:37They invested heavily into the company.
14:40They created a lot of infrastructure.
14:41And within a short period of four years, we've gone on to become the largest pre-owned two-wheelers platform in the country,
14:50which is quite a challenging task to do.
14:55But, yeah, it's a very exciting journey.
14:57There are many parallels between running a business and the sport of Formula One.
15:01So, you know, I was exposed to this entrepreneurial skill very early on.
15:08And why did I do this?
15:11I had to do something in the auto ecosystem because that's what my exposure is.
15:17And so, yeah, that's given me insights into the business and really enjoying it.
15:23I was based out of Bangalore for quite a few years and, yeah, really built this company.
15:29But now it's gone on to the next level with TVS Motor Company investing a lot more into the business.
15:36So, yeah, this is really challenging, but it's extremely insightful.
15:44And, yeah, to become an entrepreneur, I think, was a great journey as well.
15:52So, why didn't you think of starting Drivex probably at an earlier stage when you were at the peak of your racing career?
16:01It would have probably scaled differently, do you think so?
16:04And what is the vision for Drivex in the next five years?
16:09Well, I could never have done it earlier because, you know, you're traveling the globe.
16:13And any business, any startup, you know, you need to be there hands-on.
16:17You know, you need to do, you know, you need to wear many hats.
16:20And that's how the business grows.
16:22And I could have never done it earlier because, you know, being a professional racing driver takes a lot of time.
16:28And a lot of time on fitness, a lot of time on a lot of interaction with the team, with the media, with so many other things.
16:35And globally, you're traveling, you know, you have 20 races when I drove.
16:40So, you're constantly, you know, at that time, testing was, you could test every week as well.
16:46And so, it was, you know, it was, you had a break on Monday.
16:50Then you started the testing.
16:52And then the race weekend.
16:55And then by the time you could recover, you're again doing.
16:58So, I could have never done it so early on.
17:00But, yeah, I mean, Drivex, as I told you just now, it's a great platform.
17:06And I'm really proud to have been part of it.
17:09And still, we are growing.
17:11You've also spoken about AI in mobility as a game changer.
17:17How do you see it transforming the future of transportation in India?
17:21I think the biggest contributor to this ADAS technology for our Indian roads is how it's going to become much more safer.
17:29It's the environment is going to become much more safer.
17:32I always say, you know, in India, if you, for example, we have the highest accidents, highest deaths on, you know, road accidents, from road accidents, and so on.
17:44But our infrastructure is, you can see the roads.
17:49They are getting a lot better.
17:50You can see the vehicles.
17:52They are getting a lot faster and so on.
17:55But the civic sense of driving and riding is still very poor.
17:59So, with all the technology that is being focused right now, our roads are going to be a lot more safer.
18:08You know, I always, you know, 10 years ago, I used to say the racetracks are much safer than our Indian roads.
18:13But thankfully, that is changing and, you know, we're going to have this, I think, basically, we're going to have much safer roads in the next, not too far from now, in the next four or five years.
18:27You know, you interact with a lot of young talent, aspirants who want to be like you.
18:35Do you think that India truly has the potential to produce more Formula One stars?
18:40And what do we need to do to get there?
18:43Well, India thrives largely in a sport like cricket because the infrastructure has been there for many years.
18:53And, of course, the barriers to get into the sport is a lot easier.
18:57But having said that, football is catching up.
19:00Other sports are also being given opportunities.
19:02Motorsport, you know, be it four-wheelers or two-wheelers or, you know, any kind of motorsport, the equipment itself is quite expensive.
19:13So there are a lot more entry barriers.
19:15So we need more corporate support.
19:17Of course, the duty structure for any, for go-karting, for example, they're not built, professional go-karts have to be still imported.
19:26The duty structures are so high that it is an expensive sport in Europe.
19:31And then when it comes to India, you add the duties just, you know, way beyond the means of many people here.
19:38And I wish that could, you know, become slightly better.
19:42And I think we'll have – we already, as I told you earlier, a lot of drivers and riders who are aspiring to be professionals in this sport.
19:50And it's a great sport.
19:51So I think, you know, matter of time before the corporate world and some sort of, you know, government incentives could happen in the near future, I hope.
20:03And our federation is very actively trying to, you know, build this ecosystem.
20:08At the start of this interview, you had spoken about the new racing track that you're helping build.
20:14And you're also involved in COAST, which is about 10 minutes from here, you said.
20:19How are you now contributing to making this a reality when it comes to aiding the young asperts?
20:26Yeah, well, yeah, as I told you earlier, you know, I helped to design a racetrack, you know, not too far from here.
20:35It's about 10, 15 minutes from this location.
20:38It's a grade 2 facility which is still under development.
20:41But primarily it's being used for development of new R&D vehicles and so on.
20:50Racing, it's going to take a little bit more time.
20:53But the go-karting infrastructure is completed and we've had some national races here.
21:00And, you know, we've been trying to put this together for a long time.
21:04And similar-minded people, my friend Charles here, who's also helped extensively with creating this infrastructure.
21:13And, you know, so together all of us are trying to give back something to the sport in terms of a great facility,
21:22especially in the, you know, the kindergarten of motorsport, I would say, karting and motorcycle racing and so on.
21:31But right now, a lot of manufacturers are using it for the development of their, you know, motor vehicles, their platforms.
21:41A lot of ADAS technology is being perfected here.
21:45So, yeah, it serves much more of a purpose in the auto ecosystem.
21:52You know, Naren, there's so much on the Internet and thanks to ChatGPT.
21:56In terms of advice on fitness, diet, etc., etc., the works.
22:03What is your advice to this generation when it comes to all these aspects of hard work, fitness, diet, dedication?
22:12Like, how do you keep it all together?
22:15Well, it's gone to a different level, you know.
22:18Any sport which is competitive, any world championship, you know, you need to get there.
22:23There's nothing just about talent.
22:25And there are so many things outside of that, you know.
22:28Driving, if you take racing, for example, I would say it's only 10% of the 90% is, you know, putting to have a good physical, mental ability.
22:39A lot of, you know, hard work with fitness.
22:43Is there eating the right diet?
22:45You know, learning from experience.
22:47Learning from your team.
22:48So, teamwork is extremely important in the world of motorsport because you only see two drivers.
22:57The focus is on them.
22:58But behind them, there are thousands of people, lots of data.
23:02And, you know, there are some clever minds who put this all together.
23:06And use those, you know, technology to help you to hone your skills and become a better racing driver.
23:13But I made it to Formula 1 from India 20 years ago.
23:17So, I'm sure there are opportunities now for drivers and riders who want to, you know, do, you know, who want to do F1 or MotoGP or whatever or become a professional racing driver to make a living out of it.
23:30The opportunities are far greater now, for sure.
23:33I find it impossible to believe that, you know, it's taken 20 years, you know, for somebody else to get to Formula 1 from India.
23:41China has a big push.
23:43They've had Chinese drivers.
23:45But, I mean, we have a lot of talented young drivers and riders in our country.
23:52It's just giving them that platform which is going to make them shine globally.
23:56And I hope, you know, we can, you know, in the next few years, we see a lot more, you know, competitive motorsport stars from India.
24:08How much do you miss those races, the adrenal rush, the tough circuits, the very busy life?
24:17And how do you space it out now?
24:19What do you do in your free time?
24:20And I don't watch too much of Formula 1 because I don't have time and I can keep up with the rules.
24:27They keep changing every weekend, so it's confusing.
24:29But, you know, this year it's been so dominant.
24:34McLaren, Piastri and Norris have dominated it.
24:38And, you know, suddenly, you know, you can never count out Verstappen from nowhere.
24:42Yesterday he won the race in Monza.
24:44So, but the day the Formula 1 title, the constructors is almost decided and it will be between these two drivers.
24:55So, apart from that, you know, I focus on my business and we are trying to create and finish this racing infrastructure as soon as possible.
25:08So, it gives other people a lot of a chance to, you know, drive something locally, which is built up to a very, very high grade to international standard.
25:20You know, Naren, we are coming to the end of this session and I want to end by asking you,
25:26Pulela Gopichand said that sports in India remains prohibitively expensive for ordinary athletes.
25:32Absolutely.
25:32From your experience, how do you see this challenge and what can we do to make sports a viable livelihood in India?
25:43Sports is very important for, you know, for young people growing up because it puts a lot of discipline in you from a very early age.
25:52And, in a sense, gives you a lot of activity to do outdoors.
25:56And, now, today we are at a day, we are in an age where everything happens at your fingertips.
26:02But, then, you know, it gives you a lot more focus.
26:06It gives you a much better way, a much better healthy lifestyle going forward.
26:12So, yeah, the emphasis should be on promoting sport.
26:17And, for that, you know, you need a lot.
26:21I can speak about my sport formula, motorsport.
26:24But, there's a lot more focus on it.
26:27You know, there is a lot of leagues which have come up recently.
26:32There's the motocross league.
26:33There's the Indian racing league.
26:35So, people are seeing, you know, there is exposure.
26:39Only if you have exposure do corporates come on board to support it.
26:43So, things are changing.
26:44So, I think, you know, the future seems to be quite bright.
26:50And, you know, as I said earlier, you know, I would love to contribute whatever from my side to, you know, help develop the next generation of racers from our country.
27:02We wish you all the very best for that.
27:06And, we want to thank you for being here.
27:08It's been wonderful talking to you.
27:10Let's have a huge round of applause for Naren Karthikeyan and this wonderful conversation we've had with him.
27:16Thank you very much.
Be the first to comment