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Liuzzi to give up seat for Karthikeyan in India

Narain Karthikeyan will take Tonio Liuzzi's place at HRT in India © Sutton Images

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• Race:
• Indian Grand Prix

• Championship:
• FIA Formula One World Championship

• Drivers:
• Narain Karthikeyan
• |
• Colin Kolles
• |
• Tonio Liuzzi
• |
• Daniel Ricciardo

• Teams:
• HRT

Tonio Liuzzi will not drive at the Indian Grand Prix after being asked by HRT to make way for Narain Karthikeyan, who is returning for a one-off race in front of his home crowd.

The original plan had been for Daniel Ricciardo to step aside, but on Saturday HRT revealed that it had asked Liuzzi to stand down for one race only. Karthikeyan brings added sponsorship to the team and at the time of writing is the only Indian confirmed on next weekend's grid.

"Having Narain Karthikeyan, the first Indian driver in F1 history, and Tata with us makes it feel like a home race," HRT team principal Colin Kolles said. "Narain is a talented driver and we are proud to be going down this path with him. For this single event, Narain will be driving alongside Daniel Ricciardo.

"I have asked Tonio Liuzzi to step aside for the Indian GP in order to allow driving programs with Ricciardo and Karthikeyan to be completed. I have to thank Tonio for his professional approach and attitude. After the positive performance the team had in Korea, I hope that we will keep on that line in India. Although Narain has already driven around the track and given us a positive feedback, we really don't know what to expect but we are looking forward to it."

Karthikeyan is looking forward to the event, which he hopes will encourage young Indian racing drivers to aim for F1.

"Driving in front of the home crowd cheering on is going to be a surreal experience," he said. "A once in a lifetime experience and I feel extremely fortunate. There is a huge buzz around the Grand Prix already and I'm sure that it'll be a resounding success that will motivate more youngsters towards the sport and give us the future F1 drivers. Making it into F1 at the time I did was a seriously uphill task and the thought of being able to compete in the inaugural Indian GP was non-existent. But it is finally here and I'll be on the grid.

"It is going to be one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar. There are points at which, if you're in an F1 car, you will see nothing but the sky. The layout itself is going to put tremendous energy through the tyres and the strategy will play a key role in the final result. For sure I'll race hard and try to get a good result for myself and the team. I would like to express my gratitude towards Tata Group and the rest of sponsors for their continued support and belief throughout my career."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.