Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan has admitted that it is unlikely his home country will host a Formula 1 race within the next five years.

In June, the Indian Olympic Association announced it had reached a provisional  agreement with Bernie Ecclestone for a race in New Dehli.But Karthikeyan isn’t hopeful. “It’s unlikely,” he remarked. “I doubt it. Formula 1 is very expensive. I don’t think the will be able to build a track by 2008. Maybe five years down the line we can expect F1 in India.”

Motor racing is still a very immature sport in India, although it is gaining popularity. Karthikeyan has explained that as the Indian market is now a large one for car-makers, F1 teams would love to race in the country to raise brand awareness. “We are still way behind the Europeans,” he remarked. “We don’t have enough money – the infrastructure is not up to international standards. India has just two racing tracks, whereas even a small country like England has 15.”

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