Monaco accident was not scary: Chandhok

New Delhi: Jarno Trulli driving his Lotus car over Karun Chandhok's Hispania alarmed F1 fans but the Indian driver says he was merely disappointed and not scared as it denied him a better finish in last Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.

The Indian was running in the 14th place with four laps remaining when, trying to go past on the inside, Trulli drove his Lotus car over the top of Chandhok, who was seen ducking.

Even though his race ended there, the Chennai driver was later classified 14th.

"It was not scary but very frustrating. It wasn't a pleasant experience at all. It was not the way I wanted to finish in Monaco which is one of my favourite circuits," Chadhok told PTI in an interview.

"In Monaco I was driving my best race of the season in terms of pace. I was not only quicker than (teammate) Bruno Senna but I was the best among the new teams. If not for the accident, I could have finished the race little better," he said.

"Jarno was trying for a very opportunistic move but he later apologised to me for the incident," he added.

The accident might have raised serious questions about the safety of Formula One drivers once again but Chandhok thinks otherwise.

"Such incidents are part and parcel of racing. Being a driver you cannot worry about safety. Otherwise you cannot drive. I feel F1 is more safe than driving on the streets," he said.

Chandhok said his performances in the first six races of the season has earned him respect from fellow drivers with the likes of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and eventual Monaco winner Mark Webber of Red Bull inquiring about his well-being after the accident.

"After the accident, Lewis, Mark and Jenson Button came to me and asked me if I was fine," he said.

"Now there is enough mutual respect between me and other drivers. Now they feel that I deserve to be in F1."

Chandhok said not only his team but the entire F1 fraternity was happy with his showing and that for him every race was a learning experience.

"I am very satisfied with my performance so far. Malaysia and Barcelona were very satisfying because I got passed Bruno and competed against (Lucas) di Grassi of Virgin.

"The team is also happy with the job I am doing. You know people in F1 tend to be very critical about your performance but so far everybody seems to be happy with me," he said.

"But I feel I am still rookie. Every passing day I feel I am learning new things about F1. So far, everything is very positive," Chandhok said.

He said the Hispania car was behaving as per expectation and the team is now looking forward for some updates in the coming days.

"The car is performing very well. The speed is good compared to other new teams. It is very competitive than other new cars. Personally, I feel I am driving quite well. But it's still tough out there because we are two months behind other new teams.

"We are developing but bigger tests await us in the second half of the season and we are looking forward to that.

We are looking for some performance updates in Valencia or Hockenheim," Chandhok said.

On the personal front, the youngster said he was looking forward to British, Belgian and Singapore Grand Prix as they are his favourite circuits along with Monaco.

"I love Silverstone, Spa. I am also eagerly waiting to race in Singapore because I like street circuits," Chandhok signed off.