Mr. Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan, often termed as "The Fastest Indian in the World", created history by becoming the first Indian to drive in the F1 World Championships.

Born on January 14, 1977, Chennai, India, Mr. Karthikeyan inspired by his father, a former Indian national rally champion took to motor sports early in life. As an indication of things to come, he made it to the winners' podium in his first ever race at Sriperumpudur.

Formula driving in India is an alien sport. With absolutely no role models ahead of him, his journey was one that was marked by sheer grit and determination. After training at the Elf Winfield Racing School at France, he began participating in one competition after another.

Some of his achievements include - a win at International F3 race at the Spa, Belgium and a world beating victory in Korean F3 Super Prix in 2000 and as one of the fastest drivers in the highly competitive Telefonica World Series in 2002.

Leaving his mark at each level of competition, he progressed to his goal of becoming the first Indian F1 racing driver. To enter the F1 circuit as the first Indian driver is no mean achievement and this he accomplished against great odds. His impressive debut in the Formula 1 circuit in February this year saw him finish at the 12th position ahead of his teammate Tiago Monteiro and was dubbed 'the best rookie driver'.

Mr. Narain Karthikeyan is responsible for making Formula 1 racing a household name and the sport has come to have a steady fan following in the country. He has paved the way for future talent in a sport that till couple of years back was relegated to a small corner of the sports section of the newspaper.