Narain Karthikeyan becomes India's first Formula One driver

Coimbatore-born Narain Karthikeyan made his Formula One debut with Jordan at the 2005 Australian Grand Prix.
Narain Karthikeyan was born in Coimbatore in 1977 and became the first Indian to win the Formula Asia International series in 1996. In 2001 he became the first Indian to drive a Formula One car, in a test for Jaguar Racing. On 1 February 2005 he signed with the Jordan team, and in March 2005 he started the Australian Grand Prix, becoming India's first Formula One race driver. He scored his only points at the 2005 United States Grand Prix and later raced for HRT in 2011 and 2012.

