Karun Chandhok has confessed he never knew his F1 debut would be so tough.
The Indian driver, only the second to compete in F1, had an unusual start in F1. His first turn of the wheel of his new Hispania car came in qualifying.
He then competed in his first race after having completed just seven laps prior to the Sunday grand prix. He did well considering the circumstances, but was caught out on his second lap by the now infamous bump at turn six which caused problems for the majority of the grid.
“I knew my F1 debut was going to be tough but never realised it would be so tough,” Karun told The Times of India.
“This was definitely not how [I] imagined my F1 debut but unfortunately this is how it was.”
Karun isn’t disheartened by his early exit, and admitted the whole experience was ‘surreal’.
“It was surreal. The paddock was very welcoming. Most of the drivers welcomed me, saying ‘welcome to the gang’.
“The best moment has been the drivers’ parade. My mother later pointed out that only 24 people in the entire world was part of that little group and it felt great,” he added.
