Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore conveyed his good wishes to Narain Karthikeyan, who will become the first Indian driver to race in the Formula One circuit on Sunday.

"I am sure I echo the feelings of the nation in saying that we are proud of Narain -- he is the first Indian to reach Formula One," Rathore said in his good luck message.

"Narain is an inspiration to all the sports persons from India and I am sure he has inspired the Indian youth to take up the exciting sport of Formula One racing in a big way," he said in a release from Melbourne.

Rathore is already in Melbourne training for the Commonewealth Shooting Championships beginning next week and will be present at the track side to cheer the 'fastest Indian on wheels' on the race day.

"He is a great person and I'm happy for him. The nation is one in praying and hoping that Narain will do his best," he said.