Karthikeyan believes the introduction of Ferrari engines and chassis, following A1 GP's six-year deal with the Italian giant, will reduce the gap with Formula One and would be almost akin to driving an F1 car.

"Though it's going to be an unknown territory for all the drivers, who are yet to see the new car, I know what to expect," Karthikeyan told reporters after Team India unveiled its new livery and rookie drivers Armaan Ebrahim and Parthiva Sureswaran in New Delhi on Wednesday.

"I believe my Formula One experience would help," he said.

Karthikeyan sniffs his chance in the first three races after which A1 GP would have a two-month gap.

"We have to do well in the first three races. After that, there is a two-month break and others might catch up with us by that time," said Karthikeyan, who became the first Indian F1 driver when he joined Jordan in 2005 and was Williams' test driver the next year.

"Hardly any A1 GP driver has Formula One experience and that is a huge boost for us," Team India CEO Andaleeb Sehgal said.

David Clare, CEO of A1 GP Asia Pacific, also shared the view and said, "Team India has done reasonably well in the last season and with Narain's Formula One experience, I think they would win more races this year. After all, Narain understands the car faster than any other driver.

"I expect Team India to be the most competitive Asia Pacific outfit this season," he added.

Karthikeyan believes the new Ferrari-powered cars would be considerably faster and a top-six finish in the championship is a realistic target for the outfit.

"I expect the car to be 5-6 seconds quicker this year. We have got new engineer team structure and if the car is consistent, we can hit the sweet spot more often.

"We are definitely looking better prepared this year. You always grow up wanting to drive Ferrari cars and it simply cannot get better," gushed the ace driver.

"Now the idea would be to win more races," said Karthikeyan, who triumphed in Zhuhai, China and Brands Hatch, UK last year.

"To finish among top six, we need more race wins and more top 6-7 finishes," he said.

Armaan, who joined the team as the new rookie driver, said he was looking forward to make the most of the opportunity.

"Representing the country is always a great honour and I'm just thrilled to be back in A1 GP," said the youngster, who was part of the 2005 Team India line-up.