Karun Chandhok continues to advise on track projects with Driven

Karun Chandhok is continuing to work with the Driven team as our Race Driver Consultant on selected projects.

Driven have already worked alongside Karun on a number of projects, drawing on his unique experiences of having driven an array of cars on nearly one hundred of the world’s most famous race tracks.

He is part of an exclusive club of only two Indian Formula 1 drivers, having raced for Hispania and Lotus in 2010 and 2011 respectively, and he is a familiar face to motorsport fans, working as an F1 expert analyst and commentator for the BBC, Channel 4 and now with Sky Sports F1.

Karun is a valuable tool in Driven’s design process, offering a unique perspective on the creation of new race tracks, upgrades to existing tracks, as well as automotive driving centres.

Find out more about Karun below, and you can read the biographies of the full Driven team by heading to our Meet the Team page.

Motor racing has always been pumping through Karun’s veins since the day he was born. His father, Vicky Chandhok, was a multiple Indian rally champion and President of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India.

After winning the 2000 Indian National Championship on his debut, Karun went onto win the 2001 Formula Asia Championship before moving to England where he was a front-runner in Formula 3. In 2006 he returned to Asia and won the 2006 Asian Renault V6 Series, which served as a launch pad up to GP2 where he was a multiple race winner and then into Formula 1.

Karun has been a member of the FIA Drivers’ Commission since 2013, sitting alongside racing legends including Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi and Tom Kristensen, representing the views and rights of drivers around the world. During his time racing in the all-electric FIA Formula E Championship, he was also elected by the other drivers as the Driver Representative to work with the Formula E and FIA authorities on a wide variety of subjects including safety, promotional activities, sporting regulations and its future structure.

His experience of working as an advisor to the Buddh International Circuit on the operations of the Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix, working at the Silverstone Race School and being an advisor to the Madras Motor Race Track is particularly useful when looking at the masterplan layout and operational models for new circuits.

With a deep love for historic machinery, there is perhaps no better way for Karun to indulge in his passion than by serving as Williams’ Heritage Driver. In his role, Karun tests and drives Williams’ historic cars at demonstrations such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where he has driven legendary cars such as the FW08C and the FW13B up the iconic Hillclimb. Karun is also a regular competitor at the Goodwood Revival, where in 2019 he took a brilliant pole position and lights-to-flag victory in the Whitsun Trophy at the wheel of a classic 1964 McLaren M1A.

In a consultancy role, Karun worked closely with Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One Management and the Jaypee Group throughout the running of the Indian Grand Prix, from the initial ground breaking phase in 2009 until the final race in 2013. He also works as a mentor on the Nissan GT Academy Program in India, with the Tata Group on the T1 Truck Racing Series, and with JK Tyre and Air Asia on the JK Racing Asia Series. He is also a driver manager for Kush Maini and Arjun Maini, who competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2018 and 2019.

He also conducts an annual charity event, ‘Karun’s Karting Carnival’ in the summer in the UK to raise funds for the education of underprivileged children in India through his family run Vishnu Devananda Charitable Trust.