Your basket is currently empty!
Tag: FIA Formula 2
-
Kush Maini ready to kickstart 2025 season with a win after taking reverse pole: FIA F2
Monaco, 23 May 2025: Indian star Kush Maini is hopeful that his reverse grid pole position in Monte Carlo will turn into a victory on Saturday in the Principality and give him and DAMS Lucas Oil a season-boosting result in the FIA Formula 2 World Championship.
So far in 2025, Maini confessed he has not had the season he envisaged since joining the French outfit but says there are positive signs even if there aren’t results to show that yet.
He also believes that a Sprint victory could be exactly what he and the team needs going into the rest of the European leg of the F2 season.
“Pace has never been a question mark. Jeddah, Imola – it’s always been there. Stuff hasn’t come together in a while now, but I hope this is the change for the better and I really enjoy working with my team. We get along really well. And I feel for sure like the best is yet to come.
“I think I just need to get my championship and kick-started and hopefully build from there. The last two years, I’ve always been in a very strong position early on and then fallen off so hopefully this year’s the opposite.”
Reflecting on the Qualifying session, Maini says that he felt he was able to get a clean run in and was thankful that traffic didn’t prevent preventing him from getting a laptime in.
The Alpine Academy driver says he handled the issue of clear air well with the team, enabling them to secure a top 10 start in both races.
“Honestly, last two years – 2023 actually, I was on for a really good lap, purple, and then traffic, and last year as well, I was outside the top 10. So it was scary going into qualifying, because there’s a lot of stuff that can be out of your control. But I think our session was very clean, and there were no real issues there.
“It was tricky overall. This time we were P5 but obviously with the groups split, P10 in the end. It’s not been the easiest start to the year. I feel Jeddah, we were very strong, and some things went out of our control, and then Imola, obviously my mistake. So it’s just nice to finally, finally, just be in the top 10 and really get our championship started.”
Looking ahead to the Sprint Race on Saturday, Maini will have a clear view into Turn 1, a coveted perspective around the streets of Monaco.
The Indian driver says he will be aiming to execute an error-free race, with overtaking opportunities so limited around the circuit.
“I think clean air in Monaco is king. You can really just enjoy driving and do a good race, manage everything. The main thing is now the start. Just get the start right and then focus on hitting your marks. It’s still a long way to go. I’m just happy and grateful that at least we’re in the top 10. Anything can happen in Monaco.
“No race is ever straightforward. There’s a lot of things that can happen, and we need to be on top of everything. Brake management and the start itself for example.
“It’s a very tight circuit, so being focused the whole time and taking nothing for granted, but it’s definitely one of the tracks where it’s tougher to overtake, so that is a positive.”
-
Kush Maini misses podium: Baku F2 race; Daruvala 14th
Baku, 29 April 2023: Kush Maini, the Indian racing star, a rookie in the F2, finished just outside the podium taking fourth place in the FIA Formula 2 Sprint here on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the other Indian veteran in F2, Jehan Daruvala, who was running third at one point after starting from P5 ended up 14th in the Sprint race.
Oliver Bearman demonstrated that to finish first in Baku – first, you have to finish, as the British rookie claimed his first Formula 2 victory in a dramatic Sprint Race.
Off the back of his maiden pole position, he lined up 9th on the grid and carved his way through the field to snatch the win from Prema Racingteammate Frederik Vesti.
A late restart with only three laps to go brought drama, as race leader Dennis Hauger and second-placed Victor Martins crashed out. The PREMA pair were there to pick up the pieces as the race concluded behind the third and final Safety Car. Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Jak Crawford also kept himself out of trouble to take his second podium in third.
AS IT HAPPENED
As the five lights went out, Victor Martins attempted to split the front-row starters, Richard Verschoor and Zane Maloney. However, there was no room for the ART Grand Prix driver as he banged wheels with Maloney.
Reverse pole-sitter Verschoor didn’t hold the lead for long. Contact with the wall at Turn 1 left the Van Amersfoort Racing driver with damage and forced his early retirement. Maloney momentarily assumed the front of the field, but the contact with Martins had caused a right rear puncture. Hauger capitalised to seize the lead from sixth on the grid.
-
Kush Maini to boost Campos Racing plans: F2 Testing roundup
Campos Racing are determined to be back with a vengeance this season and their hopes are boosted with the addition of Indian racing star and Formula 3 graduate Kush Maini to the squad. After their 2022 plans began with such promise and success during the opening rounds, the Spanish team’s dreams were derailed by Ralph Boschung’s unfortunate neck injury early on.
Yet now with the experienced Swiss driver remaining at the helm and along with Kush Maini, the signs of a strong 2023 campaign are beginning to emerge, an FIA Formula2 news report said.
Locking in their line-up prior to post-season testing at the Yas Marina Circuit last November has given both drivers the ideal situation – time to embed themselves within the team. While the disappointments of last year were a bitter pill to swallow, there seems to be a rejuvenated sense of confidence emanating from their garage.
Their performance during testing in Bahrain correlates this, both in terms of lap time and mileage. Alongside each driver topping a session on the final day of running, Boschung secured the sixth-fastest time overall across the three days, with Maini hot on his heels in ninth. Importantly, the pair were both within half a second of Van Amersfoort Racing’s Richard Verschoor.
Additionally, Campos notched the fifth highest number of laps as a team, while Maini’s haul of 195 laps was only bested by the ART Grand Prix duo of Théo Pourchaire and Victor Martins and PREMA Racing’s Frederik Vesti and Oliver Bearman.
For Maini, his attentions have been firmly fixed on tyre management – particularly managing two different compounds in a race for the first time and adapting to the variables in strategies. The Indian driver says that finding an understanding and a balance with his long-run pace will be vital, especially when navigating the 32-lap Feature Race around the Bahrain International Circuit.
“I’m feeling great! I’m working well with the team, and we ran our plan without any issues and gathered a lot of data to go through before Round 1. We focused on race runs a lot, with both the soft and the hard tyres, to understand them better – especially for myself, as I’ve never worked with them before.
“Our main focus will be all around. We’ll be going through all the information we collected, but I think we will dive deeper into the long runs and figure out the best way to manage the tyres.”
More importantly for Maini as he prepares for his Formula 2 debut, the laps on the board have given him a solid baseline to start off with. Whilst immediately getting up to speed during the opening round is the dream scenario, realistically, maintaining a steady level of progression and development throughout the long 14-round season is the ideal target.
Over in the #25 Campos box, Boschung’s experience and continuity is a valuable asset to a team who are looking to bounce back and a beneficial reference point for Maini to learn from. A relatively smooth sailing throughout testing with few short interruptions gave the team the opportunity to fully execute their run plan.
-
Daruvala reflects on positive three-day F2 test at Barcelona
Jehan Daruvala speaks on a positive three-day FIA Formula 2 (F2) Championship test at Barcelona with Prema Team.
By Darshan Chokhani
Barcelona, 15 Aprill 2022: Following the completion of the two rounds of the 2022 F2 season, the teams had a three-day in-season test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya before the third round to take place next weekend at Imola.
The first day saw Daruvala end up 15th in the standings after setting the best time of 1m29.909s with 51 laps done. Teammate and fellow Red Bull driver Dennis Hauger (1m30.439s) was 19th with 52 laps done.
The second day saw Daruvala in 10th with a best time of 1m30.057s lap where he did 64 laps in all, whereas teammate Hauger (1m30.169s) was 13th with 62 laps in his kitty. The day saw damp conditions in afternoon.
The final day had Hauger finish ahead of Daruvala, with the Norwegian completing 48 laps to be fifth after setting a 1m27.945s lap. At the same time, Daruvala was seventh with a best time of 1m28.019s and 52 laps.
“We got three good days overall in Barcelona with the tyres we had,” said Daruvala. “We had two options and six primes, so when the track conditions were closer to what we will have for the weekend, we used options.
“The pace was there on both the long and short runs, and the car felt good. Compared to Jeddah, it’s completely different for everyone. There is going to be a lot of degradation when we come back here, and it’s going to be interesting. I think we learned a lot over the last few days and it will definitely help us for the weekend.”
Teammate Hauger added: “Day 1 was quite messy overall, but in the other days I feel we made great steps, both on me for the driving and in terms of our feel with the car and everything.
“Then the engine broke down in the last afternoon, but driving wise, in performance mode we managed a good step, which is a confidence boost ahead of the next round. We also had something tested out and that is good as well. Overall, a lot of positive things to take away into the next rounds.”
