karthikeyan was born to telugu speaking parents in coimbatore, tamil nadu. his father was a former indian national rally champion. he is also related to the late s. karivardhan. karivardhan was india's most famous racing driver before karthikeyan. karthikeyan finished on the podium in his first ever race, at sriperumpudur. he then went onto the elf winfield racing school in france. he returned to india to race in formula maruti for the 1993 season. he also competed in the formula vauxhall junior championship in great britain.