Narain Karthikeyan with actors John Abraham (left) and Rahul Bose in Mumbai on Wednesday. (PTI)

Chennai: Narain Karthikeyan hopes that the new car, to be launched by his team Jordan, will help improve his performance.

“Our aim is to close the gap. I sincerely hope I will be able to improve upon my performance,” said Karthikeyan.

“The new car will allow me to compete with teams like Minardi and my teammate Tiago Monteiro. Minardi has been quick in qualifying but sometimes their fuel lasts just enough. In actual racing scene, they were last down almost,” he said. Jordan’s new EJ15B car is expected to be launched after the next race in Turkey.

Karthikeyan didn’t agree that Michael Schumacher is on the wane. “Ferrari and Michael lost in performance, while others picked up. In two months, you cannot say much about one’s capabilities. Michael is Michael. A seven-time world champion.”

Karthikeyan said the ‘one-tyre’ rule is going to be changed next season. “The rule is the same for everyone but it is hard on rookies. Most of the teams do not bother because there is a penalty for change of tyres.”

When asked whether he would be able to drive as a paid driver next season for a new team, Karthikeyan said: “It is true some of the teams have shown interest in this matter. Nothing has been finalised yet.

“Any team that I sign with for the next season will come down to India and sign a deal with a few corporates. India is a good market for them,” he said.

On his rookie season so far, Karthikeyan said: “I went through a bad patch but have come out of it. Having gained some experience, I must show better results and move to a higher level. I will stay in the circuit for a couple of more years.”

On the promising Indian drivers, he said: “Last year, when Karun drove alongside me in the World Series, he did quite well. But this season has been a difficult one for him.

“Armaan Ebrahim’s performance has been encouraging. A lot many youngsters are coming up. It is a good sign for India,” Karthikeyan signed off.