Nurburgring: Narain Karthikeyan will be back on track with confidence for the final Formula 1 race of the season in Europe, where he expects that the downforce track should not be too tough on the tyres and give him a pretty good finish in the seventh Grand Prix here.

The Jordan driver, who failed to finish the race last Sunday in Monaco for the second time in his debut season, also said that every track had its own challenges and his Jordan EJ15 still needed a lot of improvement on the aerodynamic front.

Jordan Grand Prix will conduct an aerodynamic test session after the European Grand Prix and before it crosses the Atlantic for the Canadian and American legs.

“At first sight, it looks like the current Nurburgring is a fairly high downforce track and should not be too tough on the tyres,” said Karthikeyan, who left Monaco for Germany on Monday with his wife Pavarna along with the mechanics and engineers.

“Having said that, each race presents its own unique challenges. The Nurburgring is a flowing track and we should reach high speeds of around 290kmph on the main straight. Obviously, to achieve a competitive lap time we need good traction, particularly out of the hairpins, good chassis balance and stability under braking.”

Karthikeyan’s race weekend has already started his work in Germany with a special invitation from Toyota team principal Tsutomu Tomita and Toyota Motorsport president John Howett to visit their factory in Cologne.

“It was fascinating to see how the world’s second largest car manufacturer manages its day-to-day motorsport operations with over 800 employees working at the Cologne base. I can now understand why the Toyota engines we use are so strong and reliable,” Karthikeyan said after a visit to the Toyota factory.

“On Wednesday morning I also worked on my fitness, jogging around the Nurburgring to try to understand it already. I ended up running about 10km.

“Tomorrow I’ll also have a chance to examine the circuit closer at the wheel of a car. All of us F1 drivers will be driving lucky prize draw winners around the circuit,” he said. “I think this is a great opportunity to reach out to the fans and give them something back.”

The 28-year-old rookie Formula One driver, who had only one day to relax and review the Monaco race, also explained his failure on the Monaco track.

“After six races I feel I’ve learnt how to set up the car properly. Monaco was a different game, because I lost the pace on Thursday with my small accident and I never found the confidence around the Monaco track again for the rest of the weekend,” Karthikeyan said.

Meanwhile, adds a report from London, Renault test driver Franck Montagny will take over Jordan’s Friday practice role at Grands Prix.

Renault boss Flavio Briatore said the Frenchman’s appointment from this week’s European GP at the Nuerburgring would help all parties. (Agencies)