Sponsors queuing up to support Chandhok

Karun Chandhok will this season become the second Indian driver to compete in Formula 1.

As expected, Chandhok has been signed by the new Hispania Racing team, formerly known as Campos Meta, as it is understood he will provide a considerable amount of much-needed sponsorship funds.

The 26-year-old from Chennai follows in the footsteps of India's only other F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan, who had one season with Jordan in 2005.

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Chandhok has previously driven in A1GP and over the last three years has competed in GP2, with an unremarkable record as he has finished 15th, 10th and 18th in the drivers' standings.

Despite that team principal Colin Kolles said: "We have been very impressed with Karun's performance in GP2.

"India is a great country. It will be great for the sport to have an Indian driver on the grid for the first Indian Grand Prix (yet to be officially confirmed)."

Despite the issues that have plagued the team over the last few months, which led to an internal takeover a few weeks ago, Kolles is convinced Hispania Racing has a future.

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"Everything is now in place, after an impossible race against time, to register the team's name," added Kolles.

"I truly believe we have an excellent platform to build on and move forward for a strong 2010 performance.

"Now we need to work together. We need to learn together and keep developing as a team."

Renault has confirmed a sponsorship agreement with Russian car manufacturer Lada.

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The deal, that will see branding feature on the team's cars, was signed earlier this week and publicly endorsed by Russia president Vladimir Putin.

With the country still hoping to host a F1 grand prix in the near future, this is a further sign of their determination to get involved in motorsport.