Not Fa from Formula One

hyderabad: though his first love may be the sleek beauties on the racing track, narain karthikeyan admitted he liked the lovely ladies at the contest in hyderabad on saturday. "by the way i am not a novice in the field of judging beauty and brains," the ace driver said. he had earlier judged a beauty contest in italy. "but i am thankful i am not the only judge in this mega event," he said.karthikeyan, who has test-driven for jordan and jaguar, said it is only a question of time before he breaks into formula one, the elite club of 24 racing drivers. however, getting sponsors and performing at the right place at the right time is the key to becoming eligible to burn rubber with the big boys. "the biggest difference between formula three or formula nippon and formula one is the cornering speed, which exerts a greater g-force on the body," he said. physically, formula one is more demanding than any other motor sport. "i have to work out every day to be racing fit," the 2000 korean grand prix winner said. the neck is the most vulnerable part of a racing driver's body, especially during high-speed cornering and braking. any damage to the neck can put an end to a promising career. twenty-five-year-old karthikeyan who went to the elf winfield racing school in france -- whose alumni include alain prost and damon hill -- said even driving the underpowered minardis for a start in his formula one career would be a giant step forward. "allan mcnish is 35 years old and will make his debut for toyota this year. so age is on my side," he said. narain owns a ford ikon 1.6 as his road car and his other passions -- for which he has no time now -- include aero-modelling and playing tennis. "i have my stint at formula nippon for which kingfisher, jk tyre, ford and amaron are sponsors and we are also talking to a few formula one teams to get a testing contract for the year," he said. narain, who has podium finishes at thruxton, donington and spa in british formula racing, said his favourite race track was the '8 shaped' suzuka track in japan where the maximum thrill is the cornering speed. "even though (michael) schumacher is one of the best formula one drivers ever, i look up to drivers like (david) coulthard for his sheer strength of character," narain said. "benetton's jennson button whom i have raced with and ferrari's (rubens) barrichello are good buddies whose racing tips have helped me a lot." related stories