Chandhok was born into a motorsport family — his father Vicky Chandhok is a multiple-time Indian rallying champion and long-serving president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India. His younger brother Suhail Chandhok is a sports commentator with Star Sports India. He grew up immersed in racing and began competing in Indian national formulae at the turn of the millennium.
In 2000, Chandhok won the Indian National Racing Championship in the Formula Maruti series, taking pole position and fastest lap in all ten rounds and winning seven of them. The following year he became the Formula 2000 Asia champion, the youngest-ever Asian Formula Champion, driving for Team India Racing. After testing with British Formula 3 championship-winning team Carlin Motorsport in 2001, he raced in the British F3 National class in 2002 and 2003 before stepping up to the main class in 2004 with T-Sport, finishing fourteenth in the standings.
In 2004, Chandhok joined compatriot Narain Karthikeyan at RC Motorsport for the final two rounds of the World Series by Nissan, immediately showing pace as a top-five qualifier and finisher. With Karthikeyan moving to Formula One in 2005, Chandhok ran a partial season in the revised Formula Renault 3.5 Series with the same team. He also became the first driver to represent A1 Team India at the inaugural A1 Grand Prix season in 2005-06 before handing over to Armaan Ebrahim.
In 2006, Chandhok dominated the inaugural Formula Asia V6 by Renault Championship, claiming seven race wins and nine pole positions from twelve races to take the title.
Chandhok entered the GP2 Series in 2007 with Durango. He showed immediate pace, winning the sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps and leading the sprint race in Turkey from pole position before being eliminated in a collision with Kazuki Nakajima of DAMS. His performances caught the attention of Red Bull Racing, who invited him to a two-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya in November 2007.
For 2008, Chandhok switched to the iSport International team, partnering Bruno Senna. He won one race during the season and finished tenth in the drivers' championship, also taking part in the 2008 GP2 Asia Series. The series awarded him its "Best Driving Style" accolade at the end of the year. He also drove in the 2008-09 GP2 Asia Series finale in Bahrain, filling in for Yelmer Buurman.
In 2009, Chandhok joined Ocean Racing Technology for the main GP2 season, with a best finish of third at Silverstone. The campaign was troubled by reliability, with sixteen retirements shared between Chandhok and teammate Alvaro Parente across the year.
In November 2008, Chandhok became the first Indian driver to be invited to join the British Racing Drivers' Club.
Chandhok made his Formula One debut with Hispania Racing in 2010, becoming only the second Indian driver to start a World Championship Grand Prix after Narain Karthikeyan. He scored the team's first classified finish, ending fourteenth in Australia. He was replaced mid-season by Sakon Yamamoto for the German Grand Prix onwards.
In 2011, Chandhok served as reserve driver for Team Lotus, driving in free practice sessions and replacing Jarno Trulli for the German Grand Prix, where he finished twentieth and last. He was released by the team after the Japanese Grand Prix.
In 2012, Chandhok drove in the FIA World Endurance Championship for JRM Racing in a Honda ARX-03a alongside David Brabham and Peter Dumbreck. At the Le Mans 24 Hours, the trio finished sixth overall from 56 starters. In 2013 he raced in the FIA GT Series for Seyffarth Motorsport. During the 2014-15 season he drove the inaugural Formula E season for Mahindra Racing.
After his active racing career wound down, Chandhok transitioned into broadcasting. He worked for the BBC and Channel 4 covering Formula One, and from 2019 became a regular member of the Sky Sports F1 team as an analyst, co-commentator, and pit-lane reporter. He also appeared as a presenter on the Channel 5 programme Fifth Gear. Since 2021, Chandhok has served on the Board of Directors of Motorsport UK and is a member of the FIA Drivers' Commission.
Chandhok was a pioneer for Indian motorsport on the world stage, following Karthikeyan into Formula One and demonstrating consistent single-lap pace throughout his career. His ability to combine racing success with articulate on-camera communication made him one of the most visible motorsport broadcasters from the subcontinent, bridging the gap between the paddock and a growing Indian audience for the sport.