Chandhok closing in on Campos seat

Karun Chandhok is close to landing a deal to drive for the new Campos team in the 2010 Formula One season.

Campos boss Colin Kolles has revealed the team are close to finalising terms with the Indian driver, who has spent the last three seasons racing in the GP2 series with limited success.

Former Force India boss Kolles was appointed to his new role last week after an internal takeover of the Spanish marque, and has made finalising the team's driver line-up a priority with the 2010 season due to get under way in Bahrain on March 14.

"We have been very impressed with Karun's performance in GP2 and are close to finalising a deal with him," Kolles said in quotes reported by Autosport.

"India is a great country and it would be great for the sport to have an Indian driver on the grid.

"However, we will be in a better position to comment on this over the next few days.

"My aim now is to make sure that we are there on the grid in Bahrain which will be a huge achievement in itself.

"We are moving in the right direction and will do everything in our power to make sure we are running in Bahrain, with Karun in the car."

The Autosport report claimed Chandhok had a seat fitting with Campos' car builder Dallara on Thursday.

Campos currently only have one driver signed up, Bruno Senna, the nephew of three-time world champion Ayrton. However, with Campos reportedly looking for drivers to pay their way, Senna's position may be in doubt.

Argentinian Jose Maria Lopez, who had signed a deal with the other struggling new team, USF1, has also been linked with a switch to Campos as he has £5million worth of sponsorship.

Chandhok closing in on Campos seat - Planet-F1 News from planet-f1.com