Formula 1 has completely changed over the past 20 years with the rise of teams like Red Bull and Mercedes and the introduction of a huge new fanbase.
Fans of the older generation may remember a time when Michael Schumacher’s run of five consecutive drivers’ championships was broken back in 2005.
Fernando Alonso and Renault were the combination to end Ferrari’s streak during a season which featured some heavy controversy.
At the 2005 United States Grand Prix, a flurry of crashes saw 14 of the 20 runners peel into the pit lane after the formation lap due to an issue with Michelin’s tyres.
They couldn’t withstand the forces of the banked high-speed final corner, as six runners completed the 73-lap race in front of a dejected crowd.
Racing that day was India’s first Formula 1 driver and rookie Narain Karthikeyan – a man who had come a long way from the start of that year and secured the best result of his career that day with fourth.
Narain Karthikeyan stayed in £30-a-night hotel to survive before Jordan Grand Prix F1 deal
Chasing a dream to drive in Formula 1, Karthikeyan signed his first deal back in February 2005 with the struggling Jordan Grand Prix outfit.
At the time, ex-owner Eddie Jordan had sold the team to the ‘Midland Group’, who competed under their old name for the 2005 season.
Jordan offered 50% of his F1 team to Ayrton Senna for free in 1994 but made $60 million when he sold the team 11 years later.
READ MORE: Eddie Jordan admits 90-race Formula 1 driver ‘crashed at every given moment’
Jordan also admitted giving Tim Glock an F1 debut was a highlight of his life before he was replaced by Karthikeyan in 2005 after selling the team.
Nowadays Jordan Grand Prix are known as Aston Martin, but back in 2005, they gave Karthikeyan his first break in the sport at a time when he had been struggling to get by.
“Even to survive was so tough. There’s the hotel outside Silverstone, the Green Man, I used to stay there,” he told the F1 website.
“£30 or £40 a night, or something like that, and this was just after I was signed by Jordan in January 2005, because it was so tough.”
What did Narain Karthikeyan achieve during the rest of his F1 career?
Karthikeyan failed to secure a drive for 2006 after Jordan were rebranded and he went on to participate in series and events such as A1GP, NASCAR and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
He did find a way back onto the grid in 2011 though, aged 34 and ready to compete in the inaugural Indian Grand Prix for HRT.
Daniel Ricciardo replaced him halfway through the campaign but he returned for the first running of his home race.
READ MORE: Jordan reveals ‘ridiculous’ demand Hill made to join his F1 team
He drove impressively on that occasion, beating his one-time Aussie teammate by 31.8 seconds during the race in a car that he had spent months away from.
Another season would follow in 2012 in a dismal F112 car before he fell off the grid for good, ending his single-seater career in 2019 by joining the Super GT series.
