F1 reject thinks A1GP will challenge F1

From the too funny department – Rejected from F1 for being too slow, Karthikeyan thinks A1GP is going to challenge F1

For motorsport enthusiasts, Formula One may be the real thing but Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan believes A1 Grand Prix’s six-year deal with Ferrari will throw a real challenge to F1.

Here for the penultimate race of the season at the Shanghai International Circuit this weekend, Karthikeyan said A1 GP is catching up with F1 and would gain more popularity in the years to come. “I think A1 GP will catch up with F1, more so for the next year, because of the Ferrari deal. Ferrari and motorsport go long way in history. Nowhere in the world are 24 nations going to battle it out in Ferraris. A1 GP straightaway gets a much higher profile. It will have much more media attention and more viewers," Karthikeyan said here on Thursday.

Karthikeyan said A1 GP’s unique format of pitting a country against the others and the deal with Ferrari would herald a new era for motorsport in a country like India. “They (A1) don’t go and try to compete with F1. They are two totally different levels. This concept is really clicking with the fans. It will get much bigger in the years to come," he said.