Nuerburgring: Team Lotus on Thursday made a surprise announcement replacing veteran driver Jarno Trulli with reserve driver Karun Chandhok of India for this weekend's German Grand Prix.
Lotus said the decision was taken in order to give the Indian a chance to prove himself and gain more F1 racing experience.
"One of the key goals of Team Lotus is to provide a stepladder to the top of world motorsport for talent from all over the world and we have been true to that philosophy since the first days of the team. For F1 to continue to develop globally we need to keep creating new opportunities for talent from around the world to reach the top and Team Lotus will continue to do its best to support that," said Tony Fernandes, the Team Principal.
"As a young Asian driver Karun faces even more obstacles to achieving his goals than his counterparts from the established motorsport homelands in the West, both from inside and outside F1, and I am very proud to be able to give him this chance on merit," he added.
Fernandes also thanked Trulli for making way for Chandhok to compete in the German GP.
"I also want to take this chance to thank Jarno for helping make Karun's opportunity this weekend possible. He has been extremely accommodating in stepping to the side for this race and our commitment to him is unwavering.
"He is a key member of our team and I hope that we can give him a car as soon as possible that allows him to utilise his considerable talent to the full. For this weekend he will be on hand to lend his huge experience and support to Karun," said Fernandes.
Delighted at the opportunity provided to him, Chandhok said he would be looking to approach the weekend in a realistic frame of mind and give his best.
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