Prospect for second Indian outfit on F1 grid

The country already made its presence felt on the F1 circuit after Vijay Mallya, along with the Mol family, bought Spyker and renamed it Force India.

Now if Spice Group's negotiation with the cash-strapped Super Aguri falls in place, it would be a double delight for motor sport enthusiasts in the country.

Karun, a test driver with Red Bull F1 team, is excited by the prospect, especially with the Spice Group insisting on having Narain Karthikeyan as their driver.

"It would be fantastic for motor sports in India. Though it's little premature to talk anything before the deal is actually inked, it's thrilling to imagine that out of the 11 F1 teams, two would be Indian," he said.

Karun himself is in Force India's radar and the Chennai driver is optimistic about his transition to F1 after a consistent GP2 series this year.

"With they (Spice) insisting on Narain, it would be great to see at least one Indian driver, if not two, on the F1 grid next year," said the driver.

Fellow driver Armaan too could not hide his glee with another Indian team likely to join Force India on the F1 circuit.

"It would definitely be a huge boost for all of us. The more Indian teams, the better," he said.

"However, just having Indian team there does not mean they would be offering the cockpit to Indian drivers only. But still this is a great news," he said.

Of the two, Karun has already impressed Mallya who has promised to consider him as a test driver, if not the race driver, for the next season in Force India.

On the GP2 series too, Karun impressed with his maiden podium finish for iSports International in Dubai despite running high fever.

"It was a positive start to the season but I have a long way to go with 29 more races lining up. After the podium finish in Dubai, I'm more confident about a top five finish in the championship, which would push me to the next level," said Karun, who hopes to emulate Lewis Hamilton and Timo Glock who made the successful transition from GP2 to F1.

Teenaged Armaan too believes he needs to spend some more time in GP2 before he can really hope for a foothold in F1.

"Though I crashed out in Dubai, overall it was a good experience. The car is quite competitive and by the end of the season, I would like to finish in the top 10," said Armann who drives for David Price Racing (DPR).