• HRT

Ecclestone expects Chandhok to shine by mid-season

Bernie Ecclestone thinks Karun Chandhok's involvement will be good for F1 © Sutton Images

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• Drivers:
• Karun Chandhok
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• Bernie Ecclestone

• Teams:
• HRT

Bernie Ecclestone believes HRT's new driver Karun Chandhok will start to show his true potential by mid-season and is hoping he will open up an untapped market for F1 in India.

Chandhok was announced as an HRT driver on Thursday, just one week before the teams are set to arrive in Bahrain for the season opener. Ecclestone, who is planning to introduce an Indian round to the F1 calendar in 2011, said Chandhok's involvement was positive for the sport, even if he is not up to speed straight away.

"I am very happy to see that Karun has finally secured his place on the Formula One grid," Ecclestone said. "It's been a bit last minute but the main thing is that he is there and with a team that should provide him stability and a chance to learn. While I believe it's going to take Karun until mid-season to be able to show his potential, I wish him all the very best for this season and look forward to seeing the Indian media and public get behind him this year."

Ecclestone added that Chandhok's native country is one of the areas in which he wants to expand the sport's popularity.

"India is rapidly growing to be one of the most important and powerful players in the world of business, culture and sport and at FOM [Formula One Management] we look at India very seriously," he said. "We have an Indian F1 team on the grid, we will have an Indian Grand Prix thanks to the Jaypee Group in 2011 and so it seems only right that there should be an Indian driver in Formula One."

Chandhok will drive the HRT F1 car for the first time during Friday practice in Bahrain next weekend.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.