India's long standing desire of bringing Formula One to the country received a shot in the arm with F1 management head Bernie Ecclestone saying that he was "personally enthusiastic" about having a round of the F1 Championship in India in the near future.
The President and CEO of F1 Management, in a statement, identified India as a future F1 destination and said it would be ideal to have an Indian competing in the World championship.
He also said that Chennai based Karun Chandhok has the talent to become the second Indian to get a Formula One seat.
"I have been guiding and supporting Karun in his quest to compete in GP2 as he progresses towards Formula One. This is an exciting time for him and I wish him all the success for the season ahead," Ecclestone said.
He congratulated Chandhok, who has made a foray into the 2007 GP2 series. The GP2 series this year has 13 of 26 drivers in the field, having benefited from F1 experience either in testing or races.
The GP2 series (11 events), starting on April 13 in Bahrain, is run as a support race along with Formula 1 on the same days.
Ecclestone said that when the GP2 series was conceptualised two years ago, it was to create a highly competitive series for drivers as a final stepping stone which prepares them in the best way possible for Formula 1.
"The emergence of a large number of drivers in the F1 pit-lane today bears testimony to the strength of the series," Ecclestone said.
The chairman of United Breweries group, Vijay Mallya, in a bid to bring Formula 1 racing to India, had met Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to push for installation of a racing track in the national capital.
Mallya had said that Delhi could have a street race circuit in the city for Formula 1 along the lines of the Monaco track, which runs through that city.
Narain Karthikeyan was the first Indian to compete in Formula 1 in 2005.
