Narain's happy at Sweet 17

MUMBAI: It could have been read as the brashness of a cocky novice when India's young turk in Formula One, Narain Karthikeyan, declared at the start of the fourth race weekend that he was not afraid but ready to take on the Minardis in their new car. But the fastest Indian not only proved a point in Friday's and Saturday's free practice at the San Marino Grand Prix by staying ahead of the Minardi's but also went on to assert himself in Saturday's qualifying, thus ensuring that the Minardis stay at the back of the grid for the fourth race on the trot.With Minardi officially launching their 2005 car at the start of the European segment of the season, it meant that the Jordans were the oldest cars on the track. But Narain seemed confident of his own abilities when at the wheel as well as his car. His mantra — compete hard but ensure a finish — has not changed. He was cock-a-hoop at the end of Saturday's qualifying at the Imola circuit. "I had a good qualifying lap, a two full seconds quicker than my teammate (Tiago Monteiro). But what satisfied me most was that I was generally closer to the pace, compared to the Red Bull cars and some of the others,"he told TOI from Imola. Indeed, Narain adapted well to the partly cloudy weather conditions as well as to the circuit. He felt that if the Minardis had a new car, then the new aerodynamic and mechanical parts fitted onto his Jordan certainly made a difference. "For sure it did,"said the 27-year-old Indian. And it was not just the Minardis that he was drawing a comparison with. He was happy that his qualifying lap was not all that bad when compared to MichaelSchumacher's F2005. "At the end, I was just 2.7 seconds behind the great Schumi. It was pretty close by any standards,"he said. Narain's comparison with Schumi (and the Minardis) stems from the fact that they were the only other teams driving on Bridgestone tyres. "The tyres we used had a new compound. It had a better grip and, because of its construction, lasted longer." Narain admitted he was a bit nervous at the start of the qualifying as he went for a "good spin"during one of Saturday's free practice sessions at the Tosa corner, a left-handed hairpin and one of the two blinders on the Imola circuit. "I managed to get back on track but I certainly was a bit nervous as I started off. But I was able to overcome those jitters and, in the end, it went off well."