Karun Chandhok says he felt like a ‘spare part’ during his Formula 1 career, ‘a political mess’

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A ‘political mess’ ended Karun Chandhok’s time in Formula 1 after only 11 Grands Prix appearances.

Karun Chandhok had a short experience as a Formula 1 driver, as the Indian driver competed in 11 Grands Prix with two teams across two years.

In 2010 he made his debut in Formula 1 with the Hispania Racing F1 Team, during his ten races with the team he scored no points and had a best finish of 14th place in Australia and Monaco.

After leading Hispania, Chandhok signed with Lotus in 2011 as their replacement driver, but also agreed to compete in a certain number of Grands Prix, a deal that was not completed.

Karun Chandhok discusses the ‘unfortunate’ situations he was in as an F1 driver

During an interview with Lucas Stewart, Chandhok detailed how his time at Hispania and Lotus was an ‘unfortunate situation’ which saw him leave Formula 1 after two seasons.

Chandhok said, “Quite simply, I joined two teams at the back of the grid. The first year at Hispania, we got halfway through the season, and by that stage, we were all in a mess trying to make it work, but I was very happy to have made it to the grid at that stage.

“But the team had no money, the team owners came to me and said, ‘We have another driver coming along who is offering us half a million dollars per race’. And I was like, ‘Well, you will be having him then’. That was the end of it, I raced up the British Grand Prix and that was it really.

“The following year at Lotus was not a fun year, I signed a contract to do a certain number of races, but I was going to be the reserve driver for the bulk of the year.. But that had not been communicated well between the team owners who had signed the contract with me, to everyone else in the team.

“I was like a spare part that nobody else wanted. It was a political mess. I did one race at the German Grand Prix, which was not a race I was contracted to do. It was an unfortunate situation, and at the end, the opportunities were not there at that point.”

Karun Chandhok backed Max Verstappen for the return of ‘pure’ driving

Chandhok is now back in the Formula 1 paddock, but in a media role instead of as a driver as he has become a Sky Sports analyst.

Ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season, Chandhok was one of the figures who was very vocal about the new regulations that had been added into the sport, including the use of hybrid engines.

After Max Verstappen’s comments about Formula 1 being similar to Formula E, Chandhok agreed with the four-time World Champion.

Chandhok said, “It is what it is now – the rules are set for the next few years but the ‘pure’ form of driving an F1 car flat out in Qualifying ought to be considered for the next rules set IMO.”