The new, modest face of Formula 1

Head into the English town of Brackley and one of the first things you see is the Mercedes GP factory. A short distance up the hill is the impressive high street of this thousand-year-old market town, built on the wealth of lace and wool.

I'm turning left though, into a modern, anonymous housing estate. My destination is an equally ordinary pub. Only the pub's name gives a clue as to who I'm meeting for lunch - The Chequered Flag.

Karun Chandhok's arrival is similarly understated. He rolls up in an eight-year-old Mini, and it's not even his. He's borrowed it from a friend after forgetting to renew his lease car. Unlike most 26-year-olds, Chandhok tells me he has no great interest in road cars. As a new Formula One driver with the new HRT team, he's intent on getting his head down and getting on with the job, not that teammate Bruno Senna always understands.

'I am yet to go to an end-of-weekend party. Bruno calls me a complete wimp because he's the first one to be jumping up and down and making all the Sunday night plans and deciding where he wants to go out. All I want to do is get on the first plane and go home.'

Home is a modest rented house in this modest estate in Brackley. It's in the centre of England's motor sport belt and a stone's throw from Silverstone. Perhaps more importantly, it's 90 minutes from six airports. A few people recognise him, but by and large he's left alone. Given Formula One's image, it's not very rock and roll, I suggest.

'No, it's not,' he admits, 'but to be honest my life is so chaotic and busy the rest of the year it's nice to come home to a bit of peace and quiet and just have a little bit of time off. Monaco is a little bit full on for me. Switzerland is nice, I'd like to live there one day, but I'm not wealthy enough yet.'