• Indian Grand Prix

Tendulkar lined up for chequered-flag duties

ESPNF1 Staff
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Narain Karthikeyan lets Sachin Tendulkar take a seat in his Jordan at the 2005 Spanish Grand Prix. Both men could have a role to play in the inaugural Indian Grand Prix © Getty Images
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The Times of India reports that Sachin Tendulkar has been asked to wave the chequered flag at the end of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix this weekend.

Tendulkar, who is a keen fan of the sport, has been suggested by the organisers as the best candidate, although a final decision will be taken by the Formula One management on Thursday.

"Sachin's love for motorsport is well known, and he is also the biggest sporting icon of the country," said a spokesman for the organisers. " It's only logical that we nominate him."

Tendulkar has followed Formula One since he attended his first grand prix at Silverstone when in England in 2002.

Asking the great and the good to wave the chequered flag might seem a good idea - and also to be a fairly straightforward task - but it can go wrong. At the 2002 Brazilian Grand Prix, Pele missed race winner Michael Schumacher crossing the line and instead waved the flag at a bemused Takuma Sato who was several laps behind.

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