Williams backs Karthikeyan return.

Sir Frank Williams insists that Narain Karthikeyan can still make it as a Formula One racer, despite the Indian having had to accept a test driver role with his team for 2006.

Having made his debut with Jordan/Midland last season, Karthikeyan had hoped to retain a place on the grid in 2006 but, as seats filled up, he set his sights on the testing role with Williams as a standby. Even that was not without its hitches, however, as the team swooped to secure the services of former McLaren reserve Alex Wurz, before finally confirming the Indian as fourth driver shortly before its 2006 launch.

Williams admits that the general perception of Karthikeyan remains that, while he is certainly quick, he is also still erratic - a 'quality' the Grove team hopes to be able to smooth out this year. However, despite not quite being the finished article, Williams remains convinced that the Indian has what it takes to break back into F1 full-time.

"Presently, Narain is seen as being short on experience, but still very fast," Williams told India's Hindustan Times newspaper, "He requires many more kilometres of testing and racing under his belt so he can gain experience and, from that experience, he will gain in confidence. I do believe that he has the necessary talent.

"Michael Schumacher is nearly ten years older than Narain, so clearly there is plenty of time ahead of him. With the right equipment and the right team, I have no doubt he can deliver."

Despite only having run Karthikeyan since late last year - when the Indian first tested for the team - Williams has clearly been impressed by his work ethic and belief.

"It is early days, but Narain is certainly a charming individual with the most amazing enthusiasm for Formula One," he revealed, "I'd been made aware of his background and his climb up the ladder into Formula One, and it has been characterised by endless hard work and never taking no for an answer.

"Narain is obviously unfazed by hard work. The testing routine is always rigorous and can sometimes be tedious and repetitious, but we do not doubt he will deliver everything we expect of him. What we need from him is solid hard work and a logical mind. From what we've seen of him so far, we have no doubt about the former, while only working with him in the future will tell us whether he has the latter. Being a race driver and a test driver are very different things.

"If you want to get to the top in F1, you should never take no for an answer. I think Narain is an astonishingly good example of that ethic."