INDIA in F1

Category: GP3

  • Prema Racing signs up Jehan Daruvala for new FIA F3 Series 2019

    Mumbai, 6 Dec 2018: Jehan Daruvala will step up to the new FIA F3 championship in 2019, with team Prema Racing. The all-new F3 car will be considerably faster than the car Jehan raced in 2017-2018, with a completely new Dallara chassis mated to a 3400cc Mecachrome engine, capable of touching 300 km/hr. The car will also incorporate the halo, a safety mechanism to enhance driver protection which was introduced in F1 this year.

    Importantly for Jehan, all races of the new FIA F3 Championship will be support races during F1 race weekends, allowing him the opportunity to learn all the F1 circuits. The new F3 car will also enable racers to get used to F1 features like DRS (Drag Reduction System) & Virtual Safety Car. Pirelli will be the official one make, tyre supplier for all 30 cars on the grid.

    As early preparation, the 20-year-old Indian recently tested the outgoing GP3 car in Abu Dhabi at the Yas Marina F1 Circuit. He dominated the 3 days of testing, posting the fastest time in 4 sessions and the 2nd fastest time in the remaining 2 sessions. Jehan’s pace was obvious, in spite of testing with 2 separate teams – MP Motorsport & Campos racing.

    Jehan has been signed up by Prema Racing, one of the most successful Junior Racing Teams ever. Prema has won 6 drivers & team titles, in 7 years of the F3 European Championship’s existence, Mick Schumacher being the current champion. F1 racers – Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, Antonio Giovinazzi have all raced with Prema on their way to F1.

    “The new F3 series is going to be very exciting and a different experience for me. Driving on an F1 weekend, on Pirelli tyres and an expected grid of 30 drivers, is going to be fun and challenging. I am extremely excited and proud to begin this journey with Prema and I am confident that we can achieve great results together. I would like to thank Prema for having the confidence in me and giving me the opportunity to be a part of this successful team.“ said Jehan.

    René Rosin – Team Principal of Prema commented, “Jehan is definitely a promising prospect. We have known and respected each other for a while now and we are happy that all the dots finally connected to start what we expect to be a great relationship. He always impressed when he had the right chance in the past, and our goal will be to put him in the right position to express his full potential. We are confident that he will make great progress while providing us with valuable insight heading into the challenging season ahead.”

    Jehan Daruvala won the Indian Karting Championship in 2010, before becoming the first and only Indian to win the Malaysian Yamaha Karting Championship, the CIK FIA Asia Pacific KF3 Karting Championship, and the British Super One Karting Championship. Till date, he remains the only Indian on the podium of any FIA World Championship, when he finished 2nd Runner-up in the 2014 CIK FIA World Karting Championship. He also remains the only Indian to have ever won an official Grand Prix, when he won the New Zealand Grand Prix (Toyota Racing Series). Jehan has also won two races of the FIA F3 European Championship.

    The 8-Round (16 Races) FIA F3 Championship kicks off on May 10, 2019, in Barcelona, Spain, when the F1 Championship begins its European races.

  • Jehan Daruvala impressive in the post-season testing: Tops timesheets in the afternoon

    Jehan Daruvala impressive in the post-season testing: Tops timesheets in the afternoon

    GP3 Series – Test 4.
    Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
    Friday 30 November 2018.
    Jehan Daruvala (IND, Campos Racing)
    Photo: Zak Mauger / GP3 Series Media Service.
    ref: Digital Image

    Abu Dhabi, 30 Nov 2018: Jehan Dharuvala performed well in the post-season test as he topped the afternoon session after being in the top-two quickest drivers in the morning. The Indian driver was the quickest man at the Yas Marina Circuit seting a laptime in the afternoon session in a 1:54.753 with Campos Racing. Niko Kari set a time of 1:54.683 at the wheel of a Trident in Day 2 morning session of the 2018 post-season tests.

    Day 2 opened at 9am local time and Logan Sargeant led the rest of the pack out of the pitlane as soon as it went green. The American driver who spent Day 1 with MP Motorsport moved to Trident this Friday and set the early pace.
    The studious morning session saw Kari and Daruvala swap positions at the top of the timesheet with the Indian driver drawing first blood in a 1:55.102. The Finn improved further and dipped under 1m55s, but Daruvala went even quicker in a 1:54.689 to retake P1.
    With one hour and thirty minutes left on the clock, Kari reclaimed the top spot with a laptime 6 thousandths better than Daruvala’s. When the flag dropped, Kari, Daruvala and Sargeant completed the top 3 ahead of Alex Peroni, Linus Lundqvist, Richard Verschoor, Christian Lundgaard, Yuki Tsunoda, Maximilian Fewtrell and Devlin DeFrancesco.
    The former Force India Academy driver, Daruvala was back at the top of the timesheet in the early stages of the afternoon session, but the battle for P1 raged again as Kari went quickest with a laptime of 1:55.888.
    Most of the session was dedicated to long runs and we had to wait until the final half hour to see Daruvala retake the top spot in a 1:55.325. DeFrancesco was able to improve on the Indian’s best to go top, but with five minutes left on the clock Daruvala went even quicker to end the session P1. Verschoor and Lundqvist also moved up to second and third respectively in the dying minutes. Piastri, DeFrancesco, Tsunoda, Sargeant, Kari, Lorenzo Colombo and Peroni rounded the top 10.
    The GP3 Series will run one final day tomorrow.
    2018 Post-season testing – Day 2: morning session classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    TIME
    LAP
    1
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    1:54.683
    19
    2
    Jehan Daruvala
    Campos Racing
    1:54.689
    29
    3
    Logan Sargeant
    Trident
    1:54.983
    30
    4
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    1:55.245
    17
    5
    Linus Lundqvist
    Campos Racing
    1:55.345
    29
    6
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    1:55.379
    22
    7
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    1:55.535
    25
    8
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:55.676
    25
    9
    Maximilian Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:55.688
    23
    10
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    1:55.694
    28
    11
    Olli Caldwell
    Trident
    1:55.829
    28
    12
    Ben Hingeley
    Charouz Racing System
    1:55.896
    29
    13
    Oscar Piastri
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:55.975
    25
    14
    Felipe Drugovich
    ART Grand Prix
    1:56.070
    22
    15
    Lorenzo Colombo
    MP Motorsport
    1:56.323
    27
    16
    Robert Schwartzman
    Charouz Racing System
    1:56.413
    28
    17
    Ye Yifei
    MP Motorsport
    1:56.900
    30
    18
    Fabio Scherer
    Charouz Racing System
    1:56.924
    29
    19
    Enaam Ehmad
    ART Grand Prix
    1:57.359
    29
    20
    Federico Malvestiti
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:57.627
    37
    2018 Post-season testing – Day 2: afternoon session classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    TIME
    LAP
    1
    Jehan Daruvala
    Campos Racing
    1:54.753
    29
    2
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    1:54.799
    36
    3
    Linus Lundqvist
    Campos Racing
    1:55.041
    26
    4
    Oscar Piastri
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:55.085
    22
    5
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    1:55.089
    26
    6
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:55.177
    29
    7
    Logan Sargeant
    Trident
    1:55.274
    28
    8
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    1:55.359
    25
    9
    Lorenzo Colombo
    MP Motorsport
    1:55.495
    27
    10
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    1:55.608
    19
    11
    Ben Hingeley
    Charouz Racing System
    1:55.665
    28
    12
    Miximilian Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:55.733
    32
    13
    Robert Schwartzman
    Charouz Racing System
    1:55.801
    30
    14
    Ye Yifei
    MP Motorsport
    1:55.826
    19
    15
    Olli Caldwell
    Trident
    1:55.971
    21
    16
    Fabio Scherer
    Charouz Racing System
    1:56.129
    32
    17
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    1:56.313
    33
    18
    Felipe Drugovich
    ART Grand Prix
    1:56.414
    31
    19
    Federico Malvestiti
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:56.734
    31
    20
    Enaam Ahmed
    ART Grand Prix
    1:56.800
    31
  • Hubert crowned GP3 champion even as Pulcini wins; Jehan Daruwala suffers setback, finishes 19th

    Hubert crowned GP3 champion even as Pulcini wins; Jehan Daruwala suffers setback, finishes 19th

    Anthoine Hubert came third but it was enough to seal the GP3 championship on Saturday. at Yas Marina
    Photo: GP3 Series

    Abu Dabhi, 24 Nov 2018: Leonardo Pulcini claimed his second victory of the season in fine style in this afternoon’s Race 1 at Yas Marina Circuit, fighting off an early challenge before powering all the way to the flag for a popular win, but most eyes were focussed a little further back as Anthoine Hubert did everything he needed to claim the final GP3 Series drivers’ title before easing off at the end to finish on the podium behind David Beckmann.

    Meanwhile, Indian ace Jehan Daruwala of MP Motorsport suffered a setback finishing 19th with only Joey Mawson behind him.
    Temperatures were soaring as the lights went out, with poleman and title challenger Nikita Mazepin unable to match Pulcini’s glorious getaway: the Russian cut straight across to cover the challenge, and although Hubert made a strong start he was in no position to risk a move at turn 1 and fell into line behind the front row starters but ahead of Callum Ilott, who mugged teammate Jake Hughes at the first corner, Beckmann and Ryan Tveter.
    Pulcini knew he had an advantage, and he played it almost immediately: the Italian outdragged Mazepin on the long back straight for the lead, with Beckmann copying the move on Hughes for P5. The Russian was not finished though, knowing that he needed victory to keep his title hopes alive, and he pushed Pulcini before outbraking for the lead at the marina on lap 4, but a slightly wide line at the hotel complex on the next lap allowed the Italian back into P1.
    Mazepin tried the marina move once again on lap 6, but Pulcini was alert to the danger: the Russian went too deep and ran off, but in his hurry to restart the battle he missed the bollard around which he needed to rejoin the track, and the subsequent 10 second time penalty effectively ended his title run.
    If the move meant that the front-runners could focus on preserving their cars and tyres, further back there was more action to be had: Beckmann run through Ilott at the marina for P4 on lap 9, while Giuliano Alesi started his progression up the points by claiming Tveter’s scalp behind him, while a lap later Hughes repaid his teammate by outbraking Ilott for P5. Beckmann and Hughes squabbled over P4 for a few laps before the German could finally pull away and focus on the target ahead in the closing laps.
    With the title in his pocket Hubert had no reason to fight too hard for P3, particularly as it was coming back to him at the end of the race, and gave way to Beckmann at the marina chicane on the final lap, but up front Pulcini was greeted by the flag some 8.6 seconds ahead of the German and the 2018 GP3 Champion, with Ilott hanging on for 4th and Mazepin, who was 2nd on the road before his penalty, was handed P5 ahead of a charging Alesi, who mugged Hughes on the penultimate lap, with Juan Manuel Correa surviving a late squabble for P8 and tomorrow’s pole with Simo Laaksonen and Tatiana Calderon.
    Race 1 Provisional Classification
    Position
    Driver
    Team
    Gap
    1
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Campos Racing
    2
    David Beckmann
    Trident
    8.631
    3
    Anthoine Hubert
    ART Grand Prix
    10.360
    4
    Callum Ilott
    ART Grand Prix
    11.156
    5
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    11.481
    6
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    12.701
    7
    Jake Hughes
    ART Grand Prix
    16.729
    8
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Jenzer Motorsport
    17.110
    9
    Simo Laaksonen
    Campos Racing
    17.512
    10
    Tatiana Calderón
    Jenzer Motorsport
    17.804
    11
    Ryan Tveter
    Trident
    18.479
    12
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    20.350
    13
    Jannes Fittje
    Jenzer Motorsport
    21.523
    14
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    22.728
    15
    Gabriel Aubry
    Arden International
    24.169
    16
    Sacha Fenestraz
    Arden International
    26.043
    17
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    MP Motorsport
    28.055
    18
    Diego Menchaca
    Campos Racing
    32.591
    19
    Jehan Daruvala
    MP Motorsport
    39.718
    20
    Joey Mawson
    Arden International
    69.610
  • Rookie Jehan Daruvala just 0.2 seconds off top-2 pace in GP3; Alesi leads FP1 in Abu Dhabi

    Rookie Jehan Daruvala just 0.2 seconds off top-2 pace in GP3; Alesi leads FP1 in Abu Dhabi

    Frenchman Alesi fastest in free practice
    File photo of Jehan Daruvala; INDIAinF1

    Abu Dhabi, 23 Nov 2018: Indian star Jehan Daruvala, touted as the best bet for the future of Indian racing, made an impressive debut showing the pace straight away in Free Practice 1. He was just 0.2 seconds off the pace of two drivers ahead of him as he finished fourth fastest on Friday.

    Meanwhile, Giuliano Alesi has set the pace for the final round of the 2018 GP3 Series by grabbing the top spot in this morning’s free practice session at the Yas Marina Circuit with a time of 1:55.676, going purple in all 3 sectors late in the session for a lap which was 0.892s faster than teammate David Beckmann and Gabriel Aubry, who both set the same best time earlier in the day.
    The session opened to the expected blue skies and building heat so familiar to everyone at the circuit, with most of the runners heading out when the lights went green but ART and Trident holding fire for a while: Beckmann was the last driver on track at the 15 minute mark just as ART annexed the top 3, with series leader Anthoine Hubert leading the way ahead of Callum Ilott and Nikita Mazepin.
    Hubert went quicker still next time round, laying down a marker for his title intentions, while Beckmann slotted in a tenth behind him to show that his late season form was continuing. With most of the field having a wealth of experience at the circuit there was little in the way of off-track activity, although Alesi briefly slowed half an hour in before getting underway once more.
    Leonardo Pulcini was also determined to show that his recent good form reflected his true ability by setting the pace with 15 minutes remaining, setting a new target for his rivals. Hubert improved but not by enough, while Mazepin ran well wide before regaining the track at the Viceroy section. All eyes were on Aubry as he was setting purple sectors, but just ahead of him Beckman claimed the top spot with a concise and flowing lap, while the Frenchman ran wide at the final corner to match the German’s time to the thousandth, with rookie Jehan Daruvala slotting just 0.02 behind the pair.
    With 2 minutes remaining Alesi struck, setting the pace in every sector to bring home a lap that smashed his rivals dreams: Beckmann improved on the first sector but was well off in the second, and the session was done. Behind the top 4 Joey Mawson was the only other driver within a second of Alesi, finishing ahead of Sacha Fenestraz, Pulcini, Hubert, Richard Verschoor, Ryan Tveter, Jake Hughes and Mazepin as they returned to the paddock to plan their qualifying strategies.
    Free Practice Times
    Driver
    Team
    Laptime
    Laps
    1
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    1:55.676
    18
    2
    David Beckmann
    Trident
    1:56.568
    12
    3
    Gabriel Aubry
    Arden International
    1:56.568
    18
    4
    Jehan Daruvala
    MP Motorsport
    1:56.589
    20
    5
    Joey Mawson
    Arden International
    1:56.655
    17
    6
    Sacha Fenestraz
    Arden International
    1:57.053
    18
    7
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Campos Racing
    1:57.116
    16
    8
    Anthoine Hubert
    ART Grand Prix
    1:57.170
    16
    9
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    MP Motorsport
    1:57.170
    18
    10
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    1:57.259
    18
    11
    Ryan Tveter
    Trident
    1:57.277
    15
    12
    Jake Hughes
    ART Grand Prix
    1:57.311
    17
    13
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    1:57.393
    16
    14
    Juan-Manuel Correa
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:57.453
    17
    15
    Diego Menchaca
    Campos Racing
    1:57.579
    18
    16
    Simo Laaksonen
    Campos Racing
    1:57.588
    17
    17
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    1:57.727
    15
    18
    Tatiana Calderon
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:57.826
    18
    19
    Callum Ilott
    ART Grand Prix
    1:57.847
    16
    20
    Jannes Fittje
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:58.579
    17
  • Ilott claims maiden pole in Spielberg qualifying: GP3 Series

    Ilott claims maiden pole in Spielberg qualifying: GP3 Series

    Callum Ilott of ART Grand Prix takes GP3 Series pole on Saturday at Spielberg. A GP3 series image

    Spielberg, 29 June 2018: Callum Ilott clinched his first GP3 Series pole position during the Qualifying session at Spielberg, Austria, pipping ART Grand Prix teammate Jake Hughes to top spot with a 1:19.209 lap in the final stages of the session here on Saturday. Hughes secured his highest qualifying result of the season with second, with Trident’s Alessio Lorandi taking third place.

    Unlike the morning’s practice, the session began in dry, overcast conditions; at the start, Ilott led ART stablemates Anthoine Hubert, Nikita Mazepin and Hughes out onto the Red Bull Ring. The running began inauspiciously for the Ferrari Academy driver – Ilott went off at turn 1 on his first flying lap – to let Hubert clock the quickest time on the opening cycle of runs.
    Ilott soon hit back, becoming the first to reach the 1m19s in the session, with Pedro Piquet (Trident) and Joey Mawson (Arden International) filtering in just behind the British driver. Mazepin then popped up onto the top of the timing boards before Ilott whittled the pace down further, finding a 1:19.630 ahead of the field electing to switch tyres in the middle of the session.
    Jenzer Motorsport’s Juan Manuel Correa got the running back underway, with Ilott once more taking the initiative and reopening the phase of hot laps in the final ten minutes. Ryan Tveter – who topped the morning’s Free Practice session – quickly threatened and elevated himself into second, but Ilott extended his advantage over the Trident driver before Mazepin returned to head the times.
    Hughes then assumed control of the session in its final stages before Ilott was able to wrest back provisional pole, going half a tenth faster than his teammate to set a 1:19.209. The session was then quickly red-flagged, as Hubert – who had sustained a huge wide moment at turn 10 on his hot lap – came to a halt on the track at the exit of turn 6, requiring a tow away from the marshals. With just under two minutes left on the clock, the session was not restarted – cementing Ilott’s first GP3 pole.
    Completing an all-ART front row, Hughes was 0.03s faster than Trident’s Alessio Lorandi, who starts from the second row alongside countryman Leonardo Pulcini. Mazepin begins Saturday’s race from fifth ahead of Piquet, with previous polesitter Dorian Boccolacci qualifying seventh to beat Tveter. French duo Gabriel Aubry and Giuliano Alesi complete the top ten.
    As current series leader Hubert starts from 19th on the grid, all eyes will be on him to fight back through the field in Saturday’s Race 1, while the battle for victory should be hotly contested – with plenty of close racing expected at the Red Bull Ring.
    2018 GP3 Series Round 3 – Spielberg, Austria – Provisional Qualifying Classification
    Driver
    Team
    Time
    Laps
    1
    Callum Ilott
    ART Grand Prix
    1:19.209
    15
    2
    Jake Hughes
    ART Grand Prix
    1:19.246
    15
    3
    Alessio Lorandi
    Trident
    1:19.276
    16
    4
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Campos Racing
    1:19.344
    15
    5
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    1:19.351
    15
    6
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    1:19.400
    14
    7
    Dorian Boccolacci
    MP Motorsport
    1:19.453
    16
    8
    Ryan Tveter
    Trident
    1:19.487
    16
    9
    Gabriel Aubry
    Arden International
    1:19.502
    15
    10
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    1:19.549
    15
    11
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:19.592
    16
    12
    Simo Laaksonen
    Campos Racing
    1:19.606
    15
    13
    Joey Mawson
    Arden International
    1:19.718
    15
    14
    David Beckmann
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:19.782
    15
    15
    Diego Menchaca
    Campos Racing
    1:19.807
    15
    16
    Niko Kari
    MP Motorsport
    1:19.902
    16
    17
    Tatiana Calderon
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:19.974
    15
    18
    Julien Falchero
    Arden International
    1:19.995
    15
    19
    Anthoine Hubert
    ART Grand Prix
    1:20.003
    14
    20
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    MP Motorsport
    1:20.191
    13