Reuters

Mumbai, Mar 7: India's Narain Karthikeyan hopes he can regain a Formula One slot and says Alex Wurz's return to racing has provided him with some inspiration.

Williams test driver Karthikeyan, who has not raced since leaving the now-defunct Jordan in 2005, said Wurz had showed what could be done with hard work and a bit of patience.

Austrian Wurz lost his regular seat with Benetton at the end of the 2000 season but is now back racing with Williams.

"You need to see your options and wait for your turn. That's how Formula One is at the moment," Karthikeyan told Reuters. "It's a small market, but a crowded place."

The Chennai-born racer, who became his country's first Formula One driver in 2005, said his priority remained Formula One and that his participation in A1 Grand Prix was mainly to keep himself race-fit.

"My main priority is Formula One, with Williams. I thought I'll do A1 just to keep my racing juices flowing. I'm going to be competing in the next three races as well."

The new Formula One season begins later this month with the Melbourne Grand Prix. The next A1 round is in Mexico City on March 25. India is placed 18th out of 22 teams with six points.

Karthikeyan said he was enjoying the A1 experience. "Wednesday I was testing in Valencia and Friday I was at the A1 in South Africa," he said.

"You need to adapt quickly because there was not enough practice, but after a couple of sessions you get used to the different driving styles. We scored the first points for India. Things are not looking bad."