Ecclestone: Chandhok Is F1 Material!

Karun Chandhok received a boost of confidence from the F1 supreme himself, Bernie Ecclestone, as to where his chances of landing an F1 seat in the near future stand. The Englishman, known to have a very good relationship with Force India's Vijay Mallya, insisted that the GP2 driver has made an enormous progress into F1 feeder series this year and that his time of making the ultimate step into F1 is very close.

“The time is getting closer for F1 to be in India, which is something I am really enthusiastic about, and hopefully Karun will be part of it. His place is in F1,” said Ecclestone.

Chandhok has been confirmed by iSport International for another GP2 season, following Mallya's announcement that he doesn't plan to offer any of the Indian drivers a racing or testing seat with his team for the upcoming season.

The Indian has scored his maiden win in the series last season, in Germany, and finished the year as the 10th best driver in the championship. However, despite his good performances and his close relationship with Mallya, the young driver was left aside when Force India made their lineup plans for 2009.

Nevertheless, while slamming Narain Karthikeyan's chances of joining his team in the near future, Mallya did left the door open for Chandhok. And the reason is quite simple, as the iSport International driver seems to be Force India's only chance of fielding an Indian driver in their own backyard two years from now.

Until then, Force India's racing drivers remain Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil, while Vitantonio Liuzzi will complete yet another season as test driver for the Indian outfit.