Karthikeyan agent slams Yamamoto signing
Karthikeyan, currently a Williams test driver, was touted as a favorite for the race seat following Christijan Albers' departure due to a defaulting sponsor.
The Indian's test colleague at Honda, Christian Klien, was also in the running, and he even tested the Spyker single seater.
But although 30-year-old Karthikeyan was promising to bring sponsors to Silverstone based Spyker, he could not compete with Yamamoto's late bid with an estimated (US) $22m.
"Spyker decided to go for a driver who brought in money rather than professional ability," Karthikeyan's agent, Mark Perkins, told the Press Trust of India.
He explained that Karthikeyan's negotiations with Spyker did not advance far enough to discuss the financial aspects.
Perkins added: "But obviously the team decided that Yamamoto's offer was too significant to ignore."