Karun Chandhok says he is "not too worried" despite HRT's decision to replace him with Sakon Yamamoto for the German Grand Prix.
Indian driver "not too worried" despite being replaced for German Grand Prix
Karun Chandhok says he is "not too worried" despite Hispania Racing's decision to replace him with reserve driver Sakon Yamamoto for next weekend's German Grand Prix.
The Spanish team announced on Friday that they were dropping Chandhok for the Hockenheim race, just one week after the Indian's team-mate Bruno Senna was also replaced by Yamamoto at the British Grand Prix.
Senna, nephew of the late triple champion Ayrton, will return to the cockpit alongside Yamamoto in Germany.
"You want to drive every weekend so it's not ideal," Chandhok, who will still travel to Hockenheim, said. "But it's hardly the end of the world.
"At the end of the day, they gave me the chance to be in Formula One."
The 26-year-old, who competed in the first 10 races of the season picking up a best finish of 14th, said he was confident he would be back in the car before too long.
"By no means does this mean that I'm not back in the car in Budapest (the race after Germany)," he said.
"We will sit down in Hockenheim and the team will decide on a race by race basis."
Chandhok added: "There's no reason to believe that I will be out for too long. I'm not too worried."
Positive performance
It is widely believed that Yamamoto, one of two test drivers employed by HRT alongside Austrian Christian Klien, brings substantial backing with him.
Hispania, one of three new teams on the grid this season, have been plagued by financial problems and were unable to carry out testing prior to their debut.
F1 rookie Chandhok therefore had to qualify for the first race of the season in Bahrain without any previous running in their car.
Although he finished one place ahead of Yamamoto in the British Grand Prix, the team said the Japanese driver's "very positive performance" at Silverstone warranted another drive.
"Karun Chandhok is still part of the Hispania Racing, HRT F1 Team family and is likely to be in the car at some later races this season," the team added.
Under the 2010 Formula One sporting regulations, teams are allowed to use four drivers in a season with all eligible to score points.
