Zoom Were he a regular winner, his task would be easier...

Indian GP2 racer Karun Chandhok claims a lack of corporate dollars is keeping him from making the final step into Formula One.

Despite his countryman Vijay Mallya running the Force India operation, the Indian billionaire will again field a German and Italian driver combination.

"Finance is one thing," said Chandhok who finished tenth in the GP2 series last year. "For a Formula One drive, you are looking at 10-15 million dollars. That's a significant amount of money when you convert it into rupees.”

Chandhok also believes the departure from the scene of the Honda and Super Aguri teams has complicated the task for F1 hopefuls. "Like I said it is four less seats, which has made it more difficult," he confirmed.

He refused to criticise Mallya for so far failing to hire an Indian driver. "This is something which only Vijay Mallya can answer,” he said. “It's his team. He has had a contract with Fisichella which is only for two years. And it is a commonly known fact that Sutil comes with a fairly good financial package and that explains it."

Sebastien Buemi is the only driver to graduate from the GP2 series to Formula One this year after finishing sixth overall in 2008.

E.A, Source: GMM
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