Karun Chandhok

Karun Chandhok
Karun Chandhok
Born	January 19, 1984 (age 42); Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation(s)	Racing driver, sports commentator
Years active	2000–2017 (racing)
Known for	Formula One driver, Formula E driver, sports commentator

Karun Chandhok (; born 19 January 1984) is a retired Indian racing driver and current sports commentator who participated in 11 Formula One Grands Prix between and .

In addition to Formula One, Chandhok competed in the FIA Formula E Championship representing Mahindra Racing. He previously raced for Hispania Racing during and spent three seasons in the GP2 Series, achieving two victories. In 2013, he took part in the FIA GT Series with Seyffarth Motorsport.

Prior to his GP2 tenure, Chandhok claimed the Formula Asia title in 2001 and was the first champion of the Formula Asia V6 by Renault series in 2006. Following his Formula One career, he moved into broadcasting, working as an analyst, co-commentator, and pit-lane reporter for British television. Since 2019, he has been involved with the live coverage team for Sky Sports F1.

Chandhok also plays a role in motorsport administration, serving on the Board of Directors for Motorsport UK since 2021 and participating in its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Furthermore, he is a member of the FIA Driver's Commission.

Early career

Born in Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, Chandhok is the son of Vicky Chandhok, a multiple Indian rally champion and president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India since 2003. His younger brother, Suhail Chandhok, works as a commentator for Star Sports India.

In 2000, Chandhok secured the Indian National Racing Championship by winning seven out of ten races in the Formula Maruti series, achieving pole position and fastest lap in every event. The following year, he became the youngest Asian Formula Champion by winning the Formula 2000 Asia title while driving for Team India Racing.

He tested with Carlin Motorsport in British Formula 3 during 2001 and competed in the National class for T-Sport across 2002 and 2003, finishing sixth and third respectively. In 2004, he progressed to the main British Formula 3 category with T-Sport, ending the season in 14th place.

Chandhok joined fellow Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan at RC Motorsport for the last two rounds of the World Series by Nissan in 2004. When Karthikeyan advanced to Formula One in 2005, Chandhok participated part-time in the updated Formula Renault 3.5 Series with RC Motorsport. Additionally, he was A1 Team India's inaugural driver during the 2005–06 A1 Grand Prix season, before passing driving duties to Armaan Ebrahim.

In 2006, Chandhok clinched the first-ever championship of the Formula Asia V6 by Renault, securing seven victories and nine pole positions over twelve races.

GP2 Series

Chandhok made his GP2 debut in 2007, racing for Durango. He earned his maiden GP2 victory during the sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps. At Turkey, he started from pole position in another sprint race but retired following contact with second-place competitor Kazuki Nakajima.

In November 2007, Chandhok conducted a test session with the Red Bull Racing Formula One team at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya.

He continued competing in GP2 throughout 2008 with iSport International, alongside teammate Bruno Senna. That season, he won one race and finished tenth overall while also taking part in the 2008 GP2 Asia Series season. Chandhok was honored with the "Best Driving Style" award that year.

In November 2008, leveraging India's Commonwealth ties, Chandhok became the first Indian invited to join the esteemed British Racing Drivers' Club.

For the 2009 GP2 Series season, he signed with Ocean Racing Technology. Although contracted for the main championship, he also raced in Bahrain's final round of the 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series season, substituting for Yelmer Buurman. Over that year’s campaign, Chandhok accumulated ten points with a best result of third place at Silverstone. Both he and teammate Álvaro Parente faced a difficult season characterized by sixteen retirements between them.

Force India Associations

Chandhok was connected with the Force India squad, founded in and previously owned by family acquaintance Vijay Mallya. When driver Giancarlo Fisichella transferred to Ferrari during the 2009 season, Chandhok emerged as a candidate for the vacant seat, backed by long-term supporter Bernie Ecclestone. Nevertheless, the team elevated test driver Vitantonio Liuzzi to the race seat instead.

By June 2010, Chandhok publicly stated his desire to join Force India for , highlighting the commercial benefits of featuring an Indian driver on the roster.

HRT (2010)

Chandhok launched his season with Hispania Racing, partnering with former GP2 colleague Bruno Senna, thereby becoming the second Indian Formula One competitor after Narain Karthikeyan ().

During his debut at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, Chandhok faced challenges as his vehicle was unfinished in free practice sessions, compounded by hydraulic failures that prevented lap completion. Qualifying last, 1.7 seconds slower than Senna, he retired after one lap due to a track bump incident. He secured the team's initial classified finish with 14th place in Australia, followed by 15th in Malaysia and 17th in China. Subsequent rounds included retirements caused by suspension failure (Spain), a collision with Jarno Trulli (Monaco), and technical issues (Turkey). He placed 18th in Canada and Valencia and finished 19th at Silverstone before being replaced by Sakon Yamamoto starting from the Grand Prix. Following this, Chandhok transitioned to co-commentating on Formula One broadcasts for BBC Radio 5 Live.

Lotus (2011)

On 22 March 2011, Karun Chandhok was appointed as a reserve driver for Team Lotus during the season. He took part in free practice sessions, including the , where he crashed on his installation lap. Additionally, Chandhok contributed as a co-commentator for BBC Radio 5 Live during the , and substituted for Jarno Trulli at the , finishing in 20th position—two laps behind teammate Heikki Kovalainen and four laps behind race winner Lewis Hamilton.

Following the Japanese Grand Prix, Team Lotus released Chandhok, which prevented him from participating in his home event in India. Although a financial agreement was reached with team principal Tony Fernandes, it was not finalized until April 2013.

Endurance Racing: 2012

In 2012, Chandhok competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship representing JRM Racing, piloting a Honda Performance Development ARX-03a alongside teammates David Brabham and Peter Dumbreck. The trio achieved sixth place overall at the renowned Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race.

FIA GT Series: 2013

Chandhok entered the FIA GT Series in 2013 via a last-minute arrangement with Seyffarth Racing, teaming up with Jan Seyffarth. He joined fellow Indian racer Armaan Ebrahim, who had secured his spot earlier as the first Indian participant confirmed for that season.

Formula E: 2014–2015

During the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship season of 2014–2015, Chandhok raced for Mahindra Racing.

Media Career

Chandhok has contributed to British Formula One coverage for broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel 4. As of 2021, he works as an analyst, occasional co-commentator, and pit-lane reporter for Sky Sports. Additionally, he has appeared as a presenter and reporter on Channel 5's Fifth Gear.

Career summary

Season

Series

Team

Races

Victories

Pole Positions

Fastest Laps

Podiums

Points

Final Standing

2000

Formula Maruti

Unknown

10

7

10

Unknown

10

Unknown

1st

2001

Formula 2000 Asia

SMR Team India

14

8

Unknown

13

246

1st

2002

British Formula 3 - National Class

T-Sport

25

0

1

5

156

6th

2003

British Formula 3 - National Class

T-Sport

24

8

7

2

19

314.5

3rd

2004

2004 British Formula 3 season

T-Sport

17

0

37

14th

2004 World Series by Nissan season

Tata Motors RC Motorsport

2

0

11

16th

2005

2005 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season

RC Motorsport

5

0

29th

2005–06

2005–06 A1 Grand Prix season

A1 Team India

3

0

38

15th

2006

2006 Formula V6 Asia by Renault season

Team E-Rain

12

7

4

9

131

1st

2007

2007 GP2 Series season

Durango

21

1

0

1

16

15th

2008

iSport International

19

1

0

3

31

10th

2008 GP2 Asia Series season

10

0

1

7

13th

2008–09

Ocean Racing Technology

2

0

26th

2009

Ocean Racing Technology

20

0

1

10

18th

2010

Hispania Racing F1 Team

10

0

22nd

2011

Team Lotus (2010–11)

1

0

28th

2012

Sumo Power#JRM Racing Team JRM JRM Racing Team

8

0

50.5

- !rowspan=3|

2013||rowspan=2| FIA GT Series

Seyffarth Motorsport

8

0

1

0

32

- |

Vita4one Racing Team||2||0||0||0||0||-||- |- | 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2||Murphy Prototypes||1||0||0||0||0||N/A||6th |- !rowspan=2| 2014|| European Le Mans Series - LMP2|| Murphy Prototypes|| 2|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 4|| 24th |- | 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2|| Murphy Prototypes|| 1|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| N/A|| NC |- ! 2014–15|| Formula E|| Mahindra Racing|| 11|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 18|| 17th |- ! 2015|| 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2|| Murphy Prototypes|| 1|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| N/A|| 6th |- ! 2016|| European Le Mans Series - LMP2|| Murphy Prototypes|| 1|| 0|| 0|| 0|| ۰ || 4 || 31st |- !rowspan="2"| 2017 || 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 || Tockwith Motorsports || 1 || ۰ || ۰ || ۰ || ۰ || N/A || 9th |- | British LMP3 Cup || T-Sport || 2 || ۰ || ۰ || ۰ || ۱ || 27 || 10th | }

Complete British Formula Three Championship results

(key)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	Category	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	Position	Points
2002	T-Sport	Dallara F301	Mugen-Honda	Scholarship	BRH1 1 21	BRH1 2 19	DON1 1 Ret	DON1 2 14	SIL1 1 13	SIL1 2 19	KNO 1 Ret	KNO 2 16	CRO 1 15	CRO 2 C	SIL2 1 12	SIL2 2 20	CAS 1 Ret	CAS 2 Ret	BRH2 1 DNS	BRH2 2 12	ROC 1 13	ROC 2 17	OUL 1 Ret	OUL 2 20	SNE 1 13	[[Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit#SNE2 2]] "Ret"	""	""	""	""	""	""	""	""	""	""	""	""	""	""	""	""	""	""	""	""	"6th"	"156"

2003	T-Sport	Dallara F301	Mugen-Honda	Scholarship	DON1 < br >1 < br >10	DON1 < br >2 < br >18	SNE < br >1 < br >13	SNE < br >2 < br >15	CRO < br >1 < br >15	CRO < br >2 < br >Ret	KNO < br >1 < br >15	KNO < br >2 < br >Ret	SIL < br >1 < br >8	SIL < br >2 < br >14	CAS < br >1 < br >Ret	CAS < br >2 < br >20	OUL < br >1 < br >14	OUL < br >2 < br >12	ROC < br >1 < br >12	ROC < br >2 < br >10	...	...	...

2004 British Formula 3 International Series

T-Sport

Dallara F304

Mugen-Honda

Championship

Donington Park (11,11)

Silverstone (14,C)

Croft (8,5)

Knockhill (6,5)

Snetterton (14,Ret,Ret)

Castle Combe (Ret,9)

Donington Park (4,Ret)

Oulton Park (Ret,DNS)

Silverstone (13,Ret)

Thruxton, Spa-Francorchamps, Brands Hatch (no points)

14th

37

}

Full World Series by Nissan Results

(key)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final Position	Points Earned
2004	Tata RC Motorsport	JAR Race 1	JAR Race 2	ZOL Race 1	ZOL Race 2	MAG Race 1	MAG Race 2	VAL Race 1	VAL Race 2	LAU Race 1	LAU Race 2	EST Race 1	EST Race 2	CAT Race 1	CAT Race 2	VAL Race 1 Retired	VAL Race 2 13th	JER Race 1 8th	JER Race 2 4th	16th	11

Full Formula Renault 3.5 Series Results

(key)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final Position	Points Scored
2005	RC Motorsport	ZOL Race 1 13th	ZOL Race 2 11th	MON Retired	VAL Race 1 16th	VAL Race 2 Retired	LMS Race 1 Did Not Start	LMS Race 2 Did Not Start								29th	0

Full A1 Grand Prix Results

(key)

Year	Entrant Team	Rnd.1	Rnd.2	Rnd.3	Rnd.4	Rnd.5	Rnd.6	Rnd.7	Rnd.8	Rnd.9	Rnd.10	Rnd.11	Rnd.12	Rnd.13	Rnd.14	Rnd.15	Rnd.16	Rnd.17	Rnd.18	Rnd.19	Rnd.20	Rnd.21	Rnd.22	Championship Position	Accumulated Points

24th ! 0 |}

Full Formula V6 Asia by Renault Results

(key)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Position	Points
2006	Team E-Rain	SEP1 1 1	SEP1 2 Ret	SEP2 1 3	SEP2 2 3	SEN 1 1	SEN 2 Ret	ZHU1 1 1	ZHU1 2 1	ZHU2 1 1	ZHU2 2 1	ZHU2 3 1	ZHU2 4 Ret	1st	131

GP2 Series full results

(key) (Italicized races denote fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	Final Position	Points Earned
2007	Durango	BHR FEA	BHR SPR	CAT FEA	CAT SPR	MON FEA	MAG FEA	MAG SPR	SIL FEA	SIL SPR	NÜR FEA	NÜR SPR <style= " background: #CFCFFF; " >'HUN FEA ' 14 </style> <style= " background: #CFCFFF; " >HUN < br > SPR < br > 15 † </style> <style= " background: #DFFFDF; " >IST < br > FEA < br > 8 </style> <style= " background: #EFCFFF; " >IST < br > SPR < br > Ret </style> <style= " background: #DFFFDF; " >MNZ < br > FEA < br > 5 </style> <style= " background: #DFFFDF; " >MNZ < br > SPR < br > 6 </style> <style= " background: #DFFFDF; " >SPA < br > FEA < br > 7 </style> <style= " background: #FBFFBF; " >SPA < br > SPR < br > 1 </style> <style= " background: #CFCFFF; " >VAL < br > FEA < br > 17 </style> <style= " background: #EFCFFF; " >VAL < br > SPR < br > Ret </style>	15th	16

GP2 Asia Series complete results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Race 4	Race 5	Race 6	Race 7	Race 8	Race 9	Race 10	Race 11	Race 12	Final Standing	Points Total

2008

iSport International

colspan=2 |

13th

7

nowrap | 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series season

nowrap | Ocean Racing Technology

26th

0

Formula One complete results

(key)

Year	Team Entrant	Chassis Model	Engine Supplier	Races (1–19) ... (Only first ten races displayed for brevity) ...	World Drivers' Championship Position	Points Scored

|- Template:F1 2010 ! nowrap | HRT Formula 1 Team ! nowrap | HRT Formula 1 Team Hispania F110 ! nowrap | Cosworth CA2010, a naturally aspirated V8 with a capacity of 2.4 liters | <style= " background :#EFCFFF;"> 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix BHR Template:Small Ret </ style > | <style= " background :#CFCFFF;"> 2010 Australian Grand Prix AUS Template:Small14 </ style > | <style= " background :#CFCFFF;"> 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix MAL Template:Small15 </ style > | <style= " background :#CFCFFF;"> 2010 Chinese Grand Prix CHN Template:Small17 </ style > | <style= " background :#EFCFFF;"> 2010 Spanish Grand Prix ESP Template:Small Ret </ style > | <style= " background :#CFCFFF;"> 2010 Monaco Grand Prix MON Template:Small14† </ style > | <style= " background :#CFCFFF;"> 2010 Turkish Grand Prix TUR Template:Small20† </ style > | <style= " background :#CFCFFF;"> 2010 Canadian Grand Prix CAN Template:Small18 </ style > ... ! 22nd place ! 0 points scored |} ^{{{1}}} Indicates driver retired from the race but classified for completing over ninety percent of the event distance.

24 Hours of Le Mans performance

align="left" nowrap \| Sumo Power JRM	align="left" nowrap \| Template:Flagicon GBR David Brabham Template:Flagicon GBR Peter Dumbreck	align="left" nowrap \| HPD ARX-03a	LMP1	357	6th overall	6th in class
align="left" nowrap \| Template:Flagicon IRL Murphy Prototypes	align="left" nowrap \| Template:Flagicon NZL Brendon Hartley Template:Flagicon USA Mark Patterson	align="left" nowrap \| Oreca 03-Nissan	LMP2	319	12th overall	6th in class
align="left" nowrap \| Template:Flagicon IRL Murphy Prototypes	align="left" nowrap \| Template:Flagicon FRA Nathanaël Berthon Template:Flagicon VEN Rodolfo González	align="left" nowrap \| Oreca 03R-Nissan	LMP2	73 laps completed	Did Not Finish (DNF)	DNF in class
align="left" nowrap \| Template:Flagicon IRL Murphy Prototypes	align="left" nowrap \| Template:Flagicon FRA Nathanaël Berthon Template:Flagicon USA Mark Patterson	align="left" nowrap \| Oreca 03R-Nissan	LMP2	347 laps completed	13th overall	5th in class
align="left" nowrap \| Template:Flagicon GBR Tockwith Motorsports	align="left" nowrap \| Template:Flagicon GBR Phil Hanson Template:Flagicon GBR Nigel Moore	align="left" nowrap \| Ligier JS P217-Gibson Technology	LMP2	351 laps completed	11th overall	9th in class

FIA World Endurance Championship full results

Sumo Power JRM	LMP1	nowrap \| HPD ARX-03	nowrap \| Honda LM-V8, a naturally aspirated V8 of 3.4 liters capacity	<style= "background:#DFFFDF;"> SEB - Finished P12</style>	<style= "background:#DFFFDF;"> SPA - Finished P9</style>	<style= "background:#DFFFDF;"> LMS - Finished P5</style>	<style= "background:#DFFFDF;"> SIL - Finished P7</style>	<style= "background:#DFFFDF;"> SAO - Finished P7</style>	<style= "background:#EFCFFF;"> BHR - Retired</style>	<style= "background:#DFFFDF;"> FUJ - Finished P5</style>	<style= "background:#DFFFDF;"> SHA - Finished P5</style>	10th place	50.5 points

FIA GT Series comprehensive results

|- rowspan=2 |2013 || Jan Seyffarth#Motorsport career‎│Seyffarth Motorsport || Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG || rowspan=2 | Pro || <style = “background:#DFFFDF”> NOG QR – Qualified P6</ style >
<style = “background:#DFFFDF”> NOG CR – Finished P10</ style >
|| <style = “background:#CFCFFF”> ZOL QR – Qualified P10</ style >
|| (style = “background:#FFFFFF”>) ZOL CR – Did Not Start
|| (style = “background:#CFCFFF”>) ZAN QR – Qualified P8
|| (style = “background:#DFFFDF”>) ZAN CR – Finished P4
|| (style = “background:#EFCFFF”>) SVK QR – Retired
|| (style = “background:#DFFFDF”>) SVK CR – Finished P10
|| colspan =3 | || 13th || 32 |- || Vitaphone Racing Team#GT racing history with BMW Z4 GT3 (2013)‎│Vitaphone Racing Team || BMW Z4 (E89) GT3 || || colspan =8 | || (style = “background:#DFFFDF”) NAV QR – Qualified P12
(style = “background:#EFCFFF”) NAV CR – Retired
(style = “”) BAK QR – Qualifying result unknown
(style = “”) BAK CR – Championship race result unknown
|}

Formula E full competition record

(Template:Motorsport driver results legend‎│key) (Bolded entries indicate pole position, italicized denote fastest lap)

- Year	Team	Chassis	Powertrain	Races (1–11)	Final Standing	Total Points -

|- nowrap (2014–15 Formula E season) ! nowrap (Mahindra Racing) ! nowrap (Spark Racing Technology‎│Spark) SRT01-e ! nowrap SRT01-e | <style ="background:#DFFFDF"> BEI – Finished P5</ style > | <style ="background:#DFFFDF"> PUT – Finished P6</ style > | <style ="background:#CFCFFF"> PDE – Finished P13</ style > | <style ="background:#EFCFFF"> BUE – Retired</ style > | <style ="background:#CFCFFF"> MIA – Finished P14</ style > | <style ="background:#CFCFFF"> LBH – Finished P12</ style > | <style ="background:#CFCFFF"> MCO – Finished P13</ style > | <style ="background:#CFCFFF"> BER – Finished P18</ style > | <style ="background:#CFCFFF"> MSC – Finished P12</ style > | <style ="background:#CFCFFF"> LDN – Finished P12</ style > | (style ="background:#CFCFFF") LDN – Finished P13 ! 17th place ! 18 points |}

Complete European Le Mans Series results

Year	Team	Category	Car Model	Power Unit	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Overall Position	Points Scored
2014	Murphy Prototypes	LMP2	Oreca 03	Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8	SIL 8th	IMO Retired					25th	4
2016	Murphy Prototypes	LMP2	Oreca 03R	Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8			RBR 8th				31st	4