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Narain snubs home advantage

Narain Karthikeyan insisted he would be delighted just to finish the Indian F1 GP as he played down chances of greater success in his home country's first Formula 1 race.

Karthikeyan, granted a rare drive by his HRT team for India's debut on the new F1 circuit, said the giant country's fervent fans should be pleased if he just manages to complete the 60-lap race.

HISTORIC MOMENT

"The realistic thing with our car is possibly finish the race with the team mate. If you do that you can't expect much more."

HRT shares bottom place in the Constructors' standings with zero points from 16 races in 2011, dampening expectations for the race.

Karthikeyan, who will partner Daniel Ricciardo, said excitement was at fever pitch for the race and that he had received "thousands" of requests for tickets.

Karthikeyan said: "It's a very historic and symbolic moment that an Indian driver is on the grid. Of course there's a lot of people following F1 for a long time and there'll be a lot of fans here.

"It'll be hard to explain but it is what it is. I want to enjoy the weekend and have a lot of fun and try to do the best I can do," he said.

Stay with Wheels24 for the F1 weekend.
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