Karthikeyan to race for HRT in 2012

Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan will join Pedro de la Rosa to complete the HRT line-up for the 2012 Formula One World Championship, the Spanish team announced on Friday.

This will be the 35-year-old Chennai-born driver's second season with the team. HRT replaced him with Red Bull-backed Australian rookie Daniel Ricciardo midway through last year.

"Narain... will contribute continuity and stability," team principal Luis Perez-Sala was quoted as saying in a statement.

"He is a quick, intuitive and secure driver who met his expectations despite a lack of continuity last year. Of the eight Grands Prix he contested in 2011, he only failed to finish on one occasion and had a great performance in the last race he took part in."