Indian shows Monaco police his licence to thrill

The 'fastest Indian on four wheels', Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan, got into trouble on two wheels in Monaco on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old was pulled over by police after doing a lap of the Mediterranean principality's street circuit on a scooter at a time when parts of the track were closed to traffic.

"The cops are not very happy," grinned the Jordan driver after returning to the paddock. "They wanted my licence so I gave them my Indian racing licence."

A household name in India as the country's first Formula One driver, but as yet an unknown in Monaco, Karthikeyan escaped with a warning: "They said 'Okay, please next time try and respect the rules or whatever'."

The incident will be the least of Karthikeyan's worries on what promises to be a daunting Monaco debut for the Madras-born racer.

He had not set foot in the principality until this week. "I've seen it (the layout) on TV for so many years so you really know where it's going... but it's the finer points. The hill looks much steeper than on TV," Karthikeyan said of the circuit.

"It's going to be hard for sure, for a first-timer in Formula One it's not easy. But I go well on street circuits normally, in Macau and Korea in Formula Three."

Jordan, now owned by Russian-born Canadian billionaire Alex Shnaider, have yet to score a point in five races but Karthikeyan has acquitted himself well with an 11th place in Malaysia his best result.