The disappointing result puts paid to Karthikeyan’s title hopes despite winning the maximum number of races (five) in the season. The Indian’s Supernova teammate Vittorio Ghirelli won the championship courtesy 11 podiums, including two wins.
The Indian driver, who pulled off a scintillating drive on Saturday to win from third on the grid, was on a mission once again as the lights went out for the final race of the 2013 season with the championship title at stake. An aggressive start saw him make a couple of places on the opening lap but he was stuck in traffic for the following laps which allowed Japanese Kimiya Sato to eke out a comfortable lead at the front of the pack.
He was still posting consistently fast lap times, having passed Ghirelli early on. The Supernova crew elected then to pit Karthikeyan to put on a fresh set of soft tyres, which the former Grand Prix driver had saved for race two, and get him out in clean air. The plan seemed to be working well until Karthikeyan’s front wing came slightly loose as he exited the pitlane. A lap later, the left side on the wing was hanging off, scraping the ground on occasions. Subsequently, he was shown the black and orange flag, which indicate the driver has to pit within three laps and change the damaged part.
The Indian driver, who pulled off a scintillating drive on Saturday to win from third on the grid, was on a mission once again as the lights went out for the final race of the 2013 season with the championship title at stake. An aggressive start saw him make a couple of places on the opening lap but he was stuck in traffic for the following laps which allowed Japanese Kimiya Sato to eke out a comfortable lead at the front of the pack.
He was still posting consistently fast lap times, having passed Ghirelli early on. The Supernova crew elected then to pit Karthikeyan to put on a fresh set of soft tyres, which the former Grand Prix driver had saved for race two, and get him out in clean air. The plan seemed to be working well until Karthikeyan’s front wing came slightly loose as he exited the pitlane. A lap later, the left side on the wing was hanging off, scraping the ground on occasions. Subsequently, he was shown the black and orange flag, which indicate the driver has to pit within three laps and change the damaged part.