I see it as more complicated than that. Narain Karthikeyan has already proven that he is capable of being in an F1 race, and the way Karun Chandhok's improving, he will be soon. The problem is that a lot of talented drivers are competing for a limited amount of space.

In the mid-1990s, there is no doubt in my mind that the likes of Narain would have been able to get an F1 seat without too many dramas. Now, though, the competition for even low-regarded F1 seats is intense, as seen from the fact that of the seven shortlisted candidates for Force India, five had previous F1 experience and two had (multiple) victories. Someone who's only had one fourth place in his career, no matter the circumstances, will struggle to get a seat in the face of such intense competition. A

There's no higher level of single-seater motor sport than F1 and the teams favour continuity, so the drivers already in the series tend to stick around longer than before. Also, drivers are increasingly joining teams with "bonus stuff". The most valuable of these are engine guarantees (as with Nakajima), followed by marketing prerogatives as seen by chief sponsors (often more powerful than those of the team bosses, as proven by Piquet Jr.'s appointment at Renault to help pay for Alonso). This is aside from the usual politics of F1 (Bernie favourites rarely struggle to get a seat, for instance).

I note that Narain Karthikeyan is a condition of the Spice Group's acquisition of Super Aguri, thus using F1 politics to get Narain the race drive he wants. If you can't get in despite the system, get in because of it...

In 2009, when Force India has more time to plan, perhaps an Indian driver will be able to work with Vijay Mallya to enter F1 in a controlled way. Controlled entries into F1 generally endure better than hastier efforts. In fact, I suspect this is exactly what Vijay intends to do with Karun Chandhok - ask him to be a strong secondary tester in 2009 (or perhaps even the reserve driver and chief tester, if Liuzzi gets a race seat somewhere), followed by a full-time race drive for Force India in 2010 or maybe 2011.

u cant say tat indian drivers are incapeable.. its not necessary for any indian f1 team to hav an indian driver... but it would be nice to see an indian f1 driver after narain..lets hope for d best...