Narain Karthikeyan Holds One of the Most Unfortunate Records in F1 History

The Indian subcontinent has never been a great breeding ground for Formula One drivers. In fact, there are only two drivers to have participated in an F1 race, who hail from India. Namely, Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok. The duo only has a total of 59 F1 entries and barely 5 points between the two of them.

The last time F1 saw an Indian driver on the grid was Karthikeyan, at the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. Despite not achieving too much in their F1 careers, one of them owns quite a dodgy record. One that may take a while to break.

Narain Karthikeyan holds the record for the lowest finishing position

Exactly 9 years ago, on this very day, Karthikeyan’s lowest finish in an F1 race took place at the European Grand Prix in Spain in the year 2011.

In a race that saw no retirements (this is also the record for least retirements in a race), Karthikeyan, driving for HRT, finished in a lowly 24th place. Thus he bagged the record for the lowest ever finish seen in an F1 race.

The interesting part is that he broke a record, previously set by none other than himself at the Chinese Grand Prix that year, where he finished 23rd.

It’s unlikely that this record will ever be broken, unless 3 new teams were to join F1, and if none of the drivers were to retire in a race.

Karthikeyan’s last season in F1 was in 2012. That was also his second consecutive season in Formula One with the HRT team. He joined them in 2011 after 5 years without a drive in F1.

The Indian driver had previously raced for Jordan in the 2005 F1 season, where he bagged 5 points. The season with Jordan also happens to be Karthikeyan’s best-ever season in F1 and also the only season in which he won points.

Thereafter, he also had a stint as the reserve driver for the Williams F1 team. Karthikeyan was set to race with HRT in 2013 as well but the team shut its operations, leaving Karthikeyan with nowhere to go in the F1 realm.