"People don't realize how tough it was for them": Alpine junior Kush Maini on online trolling faced by former Indian F1 racers  

Alpine junior and Indian F1 hopeful Kush Maini has spoken about how the online trolling faced by his predecessors can be a bit unfair. While Kush is trying to follow in the footsteps of Indians who have made it to Formula 1 before him, he is aware of the kind of abuse and trolling that Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok face online.

Karthikeyan became the first Indian to race in F1 in 2005 when he got a season with Jordan. As Eddie Jordan's team was already on its way out of the sport, the car was a backmarker. Narain made a return to the sport in 2011 and 2012 but it was with HRT, another team with limited funding and too far off the pace.

Chandhok, the second Indian driver to reach F1, also had a limited run as he drove a handful of races for HRT in 2010 and a single race for Lotus in 2011. The two drivers tend to receive a fair share of criticism online from the fans for their careers in Formula One.

In a conversation with Sportskeeda, Indian F1 hopeful and Alpine junior Kush Maini was questioned about the targeting his predecessors face online.

Kush, someone who has just recently joined Alpine's racing academy talked about how many don't know the struggles behind an Indian reaching F1. The kind of resources, leaving home at a very early age, and not having proper guidance or a path is just one of the many obstacles that a young aspirant from India faces.

About how massive an achievement it was for Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok to be the first two from the country to reach F1, Kush said:

"People don't realize how tough it was for them. And what they did for India just goes unnoticed. You see a lot of Indians as well trolling them. And it's just not right. Thank God, my support, at least every Indian, in amazing. They're very positive and it's lovely to see but when it comes to people that have done a lot for this country in terms of motorsport, Imagine being the first two when the sport is so unknown for us."

"Back when Narain was in F1 in the Jordan days, no one really knew the sport. So for him to do it was really something. He should be praised instead of being trolled for sure," he added.

For fans, every F1 driver is the same

Kush also talked about how, for the fans, every driver that makes it to the sport is the same. Fans will not take into consideration that the kind of challenges that an Indian driver faces are much different than what the average European driver would.

"For them, every driver is the same but you don't really take under consideration the background, what they did. I can't tell you how tough it is to move from your country and live there full time in a different country, with a different culture and different people," he explained.

Kush Maini will be racing in Formula 2 next season and he would be doing that as an Alpine junior. With Jack Doohan not competing again in F2, Victor Martins, and Kush would be the two representing the French team's academy next season.

The Indian driver will be looking to put together a better season, especially with the back of a brand like Alpine in 2024 as it does provide a direct passage to a seat in Formula 1.