F1 Boy Narain on a tech-spin

NEW DELHI: Even if you lose, give them a tough time overtaking you. People who have raced along with him sure understand what this signboard means.

Born as Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan, inheriting more than just racing genes from his father, he has put India on an entirely new track in the global circuits.

The man who also put the proud echo of our national anthem on many international pitstops by winning the coveted F1 hats time and again, needs no introduction.

He is more than the first Indian to compete in hallowed-enviable-relentlessly-tough roads of Formula 1. Narain had the formidable Indian adrenaline to quickly navigate from Formula 3 to Formula One and has a come a long and tortuous way though many adventurous laps of his career.

From a deal with the Jordan F1 team, a dream debut in Melbourne, the rare dashboard of out-qualifying seven-times World Champion Michael Schumacher (where he started 12th on the grid there), becoming the first Indian to score World Championship points in a Formula One race, to finishing fourth in the United States Grand Prix; Narain seems to be only starting with the secret fuel under the Indian hood. They say down-force is a pretty strong factor in racing, and with Narain, one can feel the power and magic that is churned up when one keeps an eye and ear on the ground.

A quick interview with him is good enough to reveal what makes this racing genius more than a fast roadster. He vrooms as comfortably on many backstage dynamics of F1 sport as we find out in this tête-à-tête. He keeps bringing gold and silver medals with A1GP World Cup of Motorsport (at Zhuhai, China 07-08, Brands Hatch, UK 07-08 and Brands Hatch, UK 08-09 tracks), but at the same time, he is ingeniously well-wired on all behind-the-wheel nuts and bolts of testing, new FIA regulations of 2012, pitcrew’s real edge areas, performance engineering's stubborn appetite, human vs. technology element and the beauty called F1 car.

He knows this SHE like no one else. Enjoy whizzing by these curves in true Narain-breakneck speed here.

Hop on.

F1 cars clearly stretch the power of human imagination to the hilt. Is there anything you still wistfully imagine as the next level of technological breakthrough?

Formula 1 never fails to surprise me in terms of innovation. Some of the most brilliant minds in engineering are involved in this sport, and you only have to look at the continuous changes in the regulation to close off loopholes that some team or the other managed to exploit. From turbo charging in the 80s to active suspension in the 90s, and the double and off-throttle diffusers in the modern-era, it is just mind-numbing.

I think we need to figure out a way to transport ourselves way quicker than what is currently possible. I spend a huge chunk of my life on planes so something that would help reduce that drastically would be welcome. What do they call it — teleporting or something? (chuckles!)

The new FIA regulations of 2012 prescribe some notable changes like height of a F1 car's nose, down force tweaks, wheelbase lengths, race time limits, compressed helium for wheel guns, airborne collisions etc. Your take?

Yes, lots of changes but most of them are a result of emphasis on safety, so I am all up for it. The regulating body constantly makes an effort to slow the cars down but the brilliant engineers in F1 always find a way to make performance gains irrespective of how tight the regulations seem. That is why F1 is the epitome of motorsport and performance engineering.

{#PageBreak#}

How crucial is technology to a sport like F1? The good side and the dark side?

It is a necessary evil. Without technology there is no F1, but if you don’t have that technology under you, in the car you are driving, you can’t do a lot even if you’re the best driver in the world. So it is a double-edged sword to be honest.

Between technology's prowess and the superpowerful human element of a pit crew, which one is actually responsible for that three-second-speed we witness at a pit stop?

Bit of both! But if you hand the same equipment to a bunch of random people and tell them to execute a F1 pit stop, it’ll be a miracle if they could get the car going in under 30 seconds. That is how difficult it is. And it is not merely the task, it is the pressure in a race situation.

The front-jack man is effectively in the path of a car doing 100kmph and he doesn’t even flinch as the car stops just a couple of centimetres from him. That is the sort of nerve you need. Definitely the human element overpowers the machines in this case.

How do you assess the performance and potential of a new car during your testing stints?

It is a combination of what you feel and what the data tells you. Data comes from an array of sensors we have on the car that give us information about its every possible aspect. Of course a lot depends on the driver since what he feels and the sort of feedback he can give to the engineers will determine how they work to improve and fine tune the setup.

Aesthetics and technical functionality are often contradictory. Do you agree?

Sometimes. But beautiful cars can be quick too — so it all boils down to the aim and approach of the designer who conceptualizes and builds the machine.

What's your own favourite technology piece so far? Like a gadget or a scientific progress you deem as the most handy to the Narain-in-a-normal-day, beyond the F1 tracks?

I think the ability to stay in touch with all communications — email, social networks and internet while being in any part of the world via my phone is the handiest innovation for me. As long as there is a mobile signal, I can do all of this. It may be something we now take for granted, but it is quite incredible!