What does it take to be an F1 driver?

Indian driver on the Indian GP grid - good bet for sponsors?
Like any sport -  look at Sania or Mahesh and Leander in tennis, or Anand in chess -  an Indian influence does help to generate interest from the media and public. As Bernie [Ecclestone] has said, India is rapidly becoming one of the most important and powerful players in the world of business culture and sport. I am sure that a GP next year will be fantastic for the country.

Is the Jaypee Group funding your F1 drive this year?
The Jaypee group had no influence in me securing a drive. My father and I know the people and are advising on various aspects of the F1 2011 project but as regards to my drive there's no link at the moment.

You have a pay seat. Could you share how much you have invested?
It's wrong to define it as a pay seat. I personally have a contract with the team and now it is between them and the sponsors if they want to exploit the undoubted potential of the Indian market.

Your dad has played an important role...
My father has played a huge, huge role in supporting me. Being a former racer himself, his advice has been very useful. My parents have had to sacrifice a lot. I am lucky to have a family who are always standing by each other.

Did you ever feel like quitting?
End 2006 was really tough. I had won the Asian V6 pretty convincingly. I knew that to pursue my ambition of being in Formula1, I had to find a way back to Europe. As the money just wasn't forthcoming I had mentally prepared myself that this was going to be the end. I was even close to accepting an F3 Team Manager position! A week before GP2 testing season, Bernie Ecclestone told me that me he had managed to come to a deal with Durango which totally rescued my career. That was a defining moment in my career, one I will always be indebted to them for. 

(as told to Kunal Shah and Abhishek Raghunath)
Kunal Shah is a former race driver who now works with Sport18, a division of Network18