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Tag: Jehan Daruvala
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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 SeriesAbu 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 ClassificationPositionDriverTeamGap1Leonardo PulciniCampos Racing2David BeckmannTrident8.6313Anthoine HubertART Grand Prix10.3604Callum IlottART Grand Prix11.1565Nikita MazepinART Grand Prix11.4816Giuliano AlesiTrident12.7017Jake HughesART Grand Prix16.7298Juan Manuel CorreaJenzer Motorsport17.1109Simo LaaksonenCampos Racing17.51210Tatiana CalderónJenzer Motorsport17.80411Ryan TveterTrident18.47912Pedro PiquetTrident20.35013Jannes FittjeJenzer Motorsport21.52314Richard VerschoorMP Motorsport22.72815Gabriel AubryArden International24.16916Sacha FenestrazArden International26.04317Devlin DeFrancescoMP Motorsport28.05518Diego MenchacaCampos Racing32.59119Jehan DaruvalaMP Motorsport39.71820Joey MawsonArden International69.610 -
Rookie Jehan Daruvala just 0.2 seconds off top-2 pace in GP3; Alesi leads FP1 in Abu Dhabi
Frenchman Alesi fastest in free practiceFile 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 TimesDriverTeamLaptimeLaps1Giuliano AlesiTrident1:55.676182David BeckmannTrident1:56.568123Gabriel AubryArden International1:56.568184Jehan DaruvalaMP Motorsport1:56.589205Joey MawsonArden International1:56.655176Sacha FenestrazArden International1:57.053187Leonardo PulciniCampos Racing1:57.116168Anthoine HubertART Grand Prix1:57.170169Devlin DeFrancescoMP Motorsport1:57.1701810Richard VerschoorMP Motorsport1:57.2591811Ryan TveterTrident1:57.2771512Jake HughesART Grand Prix1:57.3111713Nikita MazepinART Grand Prix1:57.3931614Juan-Manuel CorreaJenzer Motorsport1:57.4531715Diego MenchacaCampos Racing1:57.5791816Simo LaaksonenCampos Racing1:57.5881717Pedro PiquetTrident1:57.7271518Tatiana CalderonJenzer Motorsport1:57.8261819Callum IlottART Grand Prix1:57.8471620Jannes FittjeJenzer Motorsport1:58.57917 -
Jehan Daruvala to make GP3 debut in Abu Dhabi driving for MP Motorsport
Jehan Daruvala….all set for GP3 debut in Abu Dhabi over the weekend. Mumbai, 21 November 2018: Jehan Daruvala will race MP Motorsport’s third GP3 car in the last round of the GP3 series, in Abu Dhabi this weekend. Formula 3 race winner Daruvala from Mumbai, will debut in the highly acclaimed GP3 series with Dutch team, MP Motorsports. Jehan who last year became the first Indian to win a race in the highly competitive FIA F3 European Championship, completed the 2018 season with 1 win, 1 pole, 1 fastest lap and 5 podiums in total.
GP3 is considered an important stepping stone to F1. Current Mercedes F1 racer, Valteri Bottas and 2019 Ferrari F1 racer, Charles Leclerc are just some of the F1 stars who have graduated via GP3. This weekend the GP3 series will serve as a support race, to the F1 season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
MP Motorsport also currently fields a team in the Formula 2 championship and currently lie 4th in the GP3 series. Jehan will partner Dutchman Richard Verschoor and Canadian Devlin Defrancesco.
Jehan Daruvala “I’m pleased to welcome Jehan to our GP3 team for the final weekend in the series’ nine-year history before we move on to the all-new FIA F3 in 2019,” said MP’s team manager Sander Dorsman. “I’m sure Jehan will gel well with Richard and Devlin, and will help us wave goodbye to GP3 by going out on a high.”
“After my 2017 test, it will be good to gain some more GP3 experience ahead of the 2019 season. I am thankful to MP for giving me this opportunity,” said Jehan. The Mumbai racer first proved his mettle in karts in India, winning the JK Tyre National Karting title in Micro Max. He went on to win the Malaysian Junior Yamaha Title. He then went on to become the first & only Indian to win the CIK FIA Asia Pacific KF3 Championship & subequently the British Superone Karting Championship.
Having finished third in the 2014 CIK-FIA World Karting Championship, Jehan moved to single-seater racing the next year, finishing fifth in the 2015 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC series & runner up in the Toyota Racing Series 2016. In early 2017, he won the New Zealand Grand Prix (Toyota Racing Series). He then debuted in the FIA F3 European Championship where he finished 6th in the championship, with a win, a pole and three podiums in total. In his second FIA F3 season in 2018, Jehan copied those results and added two more podiums and a fastest lap.
Note: The FIA issued specs of the F3 2019 car on Nov 22, 2018.
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Jehan Daruvala excels at the legendary Spa circuit, with a Pole, Fastest Lap and a victory
Jehan Daruvala flashing past the finish line while winning Race 1 at Spa on Friday. Spa (Belgium), 27 July 2018: Jehan Daruvala, the first Indian to win in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, once again set a new benchmark with pole position, fastest lap and race victory in Race 1 at the legendary Formula 1 circuit of Spa Francorchamps in Belgium.
Jehan Daruvala celebrates victory at Spa. The teenage racing sensation from Mumbai had a tense qualifying earlier yesterday, and began setting lap times with only five minutes left for the session to end. Jehan was fifth on the timesheets after his first lap and improved to provisional second on the next lap. On his third and last effort, Jehan gave it everything for a brilliant lap to bag pole position by 0.10 seconds ahead of the then championship leader Marcus Armstrong from New Zealand. Jehan managed to lap the 7 kms circuit in a time of 2:12.983, while Spaniard, Alex Palou was third, two-tenths behind Jehan.
Jehan unfortunately lost ground when the lights went off to start the race. His car bogged down and by the first corner Jehan had fallen to third. As the leaders accelerated out of the iconic Eau Rouge corner, Jehan took advantage of the slip stream and muscled his way into second. Soon, an incident behind the leaders brought out the safety car for two laps.
The race resumed with Alex Palou retaining his lead ahead of Jehan, who in turn faced no threat. Once again, out of Eau Rouge and onto the long Kemmel Straight, Jehan went around the outside of Palou to grab the race lead. Jehan thereafter had to ensure that he immediately put in a bit of a gap to avoid being overtaken once again due to the slip stream effect. He managed to do that successfully, opening up six-tenth advantage over Palou.
Jehan Daruvala on way to victory at Spa The former CIK FIA Asia Pacific Karting Champion continued his dominance over the rest of the field, pulling out over two-tenths of a lap over everyone else. The Spaniard too, did not face any challenges as the two leaders were in a class of their own, pulling away throughout.
Jehan then pulled off a series of fastest race laps to move out of Palou’s reach completely, before easing off a bit, at the end. The Sahara Force India Academy racer eventually won the race with a comfortable margin of 3.2 seconds ahead of Palou and a massive 11.9 seconds ahead of Estonian racer, Ralf Aron in third.
The victory was also Jehan’s fourth podium of 2018 in the FIA F3 series which is arguably one of the toughest stepping stones to reach Formula 1. “The start was not ideal, but I kept my cool as I knew we were quick. Once I was ahead, I just had to make sure I made no mistakes. A lot of credit goes to the team for all the effort that they have put in,” said Jehan after the win.
Jehan has a number of firsts to his credit such as the first Indian to win a Grand Prix (New Zealand Grand Prix in the Toyota Racing Series in 2017) as well as the only Indian to stand on the podium of any FIA World Championship (third in the FIA CIK World Karting Championship). Jehan also remains the only Indian to win titles in the FIA CIK Asia Pacific Karting Championship and British Karting Championship.
Jehan will start 12th and 4th for Race 2 and 3 respectively, later this weekend.
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Jehan Daruvala opens European Formula 3 season with podium at Pau
Photo courtesy Jehan’s twitter handle @DaruvalaJehan Pau (France) 14 May 2018: Sahara Force India Academy racer Jehan Daruvala began his 2018 campaign in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship with a podium in Race 3 of the season opener. Jehan created history last year, when he became the first Indian ever to win a race in the FIA F3 European Championship when he dominated and won at Nuremburg in Germany.
The first round of the 2018 season was held on the famous street circuit of Pau in southern France. Jehan, the 19-year old from Mumbai and driving for Carlin team, qualified just 0.29 seconds off the quickest, but the extremely competitive grid meant that he would start seventh.
In the next qualifying session, Jehan was supremely quick. He was all set to bag pole position, but a slower car in front of him meant Jehan was blocked and he qualified down in seventh and fifth for the remaining races.
The highlight of Jehan’s weekend was when he made a brilliant start from fifth on a completely wet circuit in Race 3. The Indian teenager climbed two places before corner 1 and thereafter made no mistakes in the treacherous conditions around the tight street circuit.
Jehan was comfortable in third, when the race was stopped 13 minutes before schedule due to the un-driveable wet conditions, sealing Jehan’s podium.
Jehan Daruvala (Carlin) in action at Pau, France Jehan said: “At the start, I was able to move up from fifth to third place. Initially, the two drivers in front of me were faster and were able to pull a gap. Later on, I made a mistake: I hit a kerb and from then on, I was afraid that my suspension could break. That had happened to me in the first race already and it was always in the back of my mind. Therefore, perhaps it was good for me that the race was stopped, because nobody was able to take third place away from me.”
Earlier in the weekend, Jehan had a poor start for Race 1 and lost a couple of places before climbing up to seventh. A mechanical failure with the suspension due to no fault of his own saw Jehan retire from the race. In Race 2, Jehan started seventh and ultimately finished sixth after another racer crashed.
Jehan’s podium in Race 3, popularly known as the Pau Grand Prix, was the highlight of his weekend which was otherwise compromised due to situations beyond his control. His pace has been right up there in the series which is arguably one of the most important steps to Formula 1 and certainly one of the most competitive.
“I made a mistake in the first qualifying which cost me pole. In the second qualifying, I was unfortunately held up which again cost me pole position. I am very happy with my pace, especially in the wet. I am now much more confident and up there. After all the things that went wrong, I am relieved with the podium this weekend. It’s time to put this behind me and continue working hard for the rest of the season,” said Jehan.
The second of the 10-round championship will be held at the Hungaroring F1 circuit in Hungary on June 2-3.
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Tough debut for Jehan Daruvala at Macau Grand Prix as he finishes 10th
Jehan Daruvala finishes 10th at Macau World Cup. 19 Nov 2017; Photo by James Gasperotti Macau: Jehan Daruvala of the Sahara Force India Academy, overcame numerous hurdles, while gaining valuable experience, on his debut at the FIA F3 World Cup. The nineteen year old Indian finished a commendable tenth in his rookie race at the Macau Grand Prix. The notoriously unforgiving street circuit witnessed high drama throughout the weekend with most sessions witnessing either a red flag or a safety car, due to multiple accidents.
Jehan’s weekend at the Macau Grand Prix began with the Indian teenager finding his way around his the circuit during his first time on track. The Grand Prix in Macau deviates from the normal racing format, with the average of 2 qualifying sessions deciding the start position for a qualifying race, which in turn decides the grid for the Grand Prix race.
The 6.1 Guia street circuit is considered as one of the toughest circuits in the World and numerous F1 stars have raced and won here, enroute to F1. The circuit has no run-off at most corners, while metal armco barriers or walls, line the edge of the narrow circuit for most of its length. The added twist of the extremely high speeds that can be achieved, often result in mayhem with multiple crashes in all categories.
Jehan’s progress was hampered after crashes in practice 1 and qualifying 1, as it was for numerous other experienced and rookies alike. However the young Indian improved significantly in the second practice session which saw him just 1.1 seconds off the pace, in tenth position. Qualifying 2 undid his efforts after a crash on his first quick lap left him down in nineteenth. Jehan started nineteenth in the qualifying race, but unfortunately by then he had damaged too many tyres in his accidents. He was forced to use an old set for the race and could do little in terms of progressing up the order and eventually finished the race in sixteenth.
The FIA F3 World Cup Race at the Macau Grand Prix proved to be the most exciting. Jehan finally on fresh tyres immediately made a move once the lights went out. He was unfortunately forced wide and once again hit the barriers. Luckily the only damage that Jehan had was a slow puncture. He soon had to make an unscheduled pit-stop to change the punctured tyre and then resumed his race on track. He was fortunate to pit during a safety car period which meant he did not lose too much ground to the leaders.
Jehan joined the race in last and put his head down to close the gap. He soon started overtaking cars and also benefitted from others crashing. Jehan eventually took the chequered flag in a commendable tenth position, 10.45 seconds behind the race winner. Up ahead, the race was one of the most exciting races in the history of the Macau GP. The early leaders crashed in the first few laps after which Jehan’s teammate, Habsburg from Austria took the lead from Brazilian favourite, Sergio Camara on the last corner of the last lap! Ironically however, both crashed as they exited the last corner and handed victory to British racer Daniel Ticktum who started from eighth.
“I expected a mixed weekend – and it was exactly that. It was a steep learning curve with absolutely no margin for error. My qualifying race was compromised because ran out of tyres. At the start of the GP race I was forced into the barriers, which was a shame because I had good pace. Considering all the set-backs, I am happy with the pace I managed at the end, in my first Macau GP. I have learnt a lot and would definitely love to come and race here again next year” said Jehan after his top ten finish in the FIA F3 World Cup.
Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard are some of the Formula 1 winners who have won the Macau Grand Prix in the past besides, numerous other F1 racers who have participated but were unable to win.
eom/Press Release
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Jehan Daruvala for FIA F3 World Cup at Macau on Nov 19
This year’s FIA F3 World Cup will be fought out exclusively by the cream of young drivers seeking to make a name for themselves in world motor sport. Touted as the future F1 driver from India, Jehan Daruvala is the only driver from India who made it to the Macau event.. Along with four other Carlin teammates, he will be behind the wheels of a Dallara Volkswagen.
Eight of the top ten drivers from the 2017 FIA Formula 3 European Championship will all take to the track in Macau, as well as five of the seven rookies who contested their first year of F3 competition in the world’s premier series.
This of course means that newly-crowned FIA F3 champion Lando Norris will once again be facing his main rivals going up against the likes of Joel Eriksson, Maximilian Gunther and Callum Ilott.
Three of the top four runners in the 2017 All-Japan Formula 3 Championship will also contest the event in the form of Sho Tsuboi, Alex Palou and Ritomo Miyata.
While last year’s inaugural World Cup was weighted towards more experienced competitors, with Antonio Felix Da Costa winning his second Macau GP in five years from Felix Rosenqvist who was making a bid to become the first person to win three Macau GP’s in succession, this year it is guaranteed that a new winner will take to the top step of the podium.
2016’s front-running drivers have moved on to race in the FIA Formula E Championship, although Rosenqvist will debut in the FIA GT World Cup at the Guia circuit.
While none of the drivers on this year’s grid have won at Macau, many have some experience driving the challenging Guia Circuit. Ilott, fifth in the 2016 FIA F3 World Cup and fourth in this year’s European F3 Championship knows Macau well. His form in 2016 following Da Costa into second in the qualifying race and battling for an early lead in the final marked him as one of the fastest of the young guns at the circuit.
Likewise Eriksson, second to Norris in the European championship with seven wins and thirteen podiums, will surely be one to watch.
Norris also knows the undulating Macau circuit, although arguably not as comprehensively as Ilott or Eriksson. Norris first raced at Macau in the inaugural FIA F3 World Cup in 2016 when he finished 11th, after qualifying in the top ten on debut and testing the track limits when his nose cone was torn off in a qualifying race incident.
The demanding Macau circuit with its bumpy surface, high speed main straight and 19 wall-enclosed corners is a constant challenge for both rookies and veteran drivers alike.
This year nine of the FIA F3 World Cup contestants will be new to the track.
The most prominent will be Mick Schumacher, son of seven time World F1 champion Michael, twelfth outright and third in the Rookie Championship of the FIA F3 European title.
His father won the Macau GP in 1990 in spectacular fashion from Mika Hakkinen.
Other key drivers to look out for will be:
Sergio Sette Camara: Third in 2016 FIA F3 World Cup. Set the lap record around the Guia circuit in 2015 – a 2:10.186
Kenta Yamashita: 2016 All-Japan F3 Champion. Impressed in the first FIA F3 World Cup finishing 4th. Currently racing in Super GT and Super Formula in Japan
FIA Director of Single-Seater Championships, Charlie Whiting, said: “It’s very exciting to see so many young stars contesting the second FIA F3 World Cup. This is exactly what the event is all about – bringing together the top talents from the top F3 series around the world for an end-of-season showdown on this incredible circuit. Macau always resets the form book, and it’s sure to be an intense and unpredictable battle for a new driver to be crowned FIA F3 World Cup winner.”eom/FIA press release
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Lando Norris wins championship; Jehan Daruvala finishes 5th in the race
Event: 10 Hockenheim
Session: Race 1
Track: Hockenheimring / DEU
Pole position: Callum Ilott (Prema Powerteam)
Race winner: Joel Eriksson (Motopark)
Weather: sunny, 17.3 °CLando Norris (Carlin) has done it, the Brit is the new FIA Formula 3 European Champion. For the young talent, who is backed by the McLaren Formula 1 team, second place behind race winner Joel Eriksson (Motopark) was enough to seal the title. Moreover, Norris secured the title of the best rookie driver. Ferdinand Habsburg (Carlin) claimed the final podium slot in the 28th race of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship season that was held in bright sunshine at the 4.574 kilometres long Hockenheimring in Germany.
Callum Ilott (Prema Powerteam) started from pole position and initially led the race, but lost his position already on the run to the hairpin when Joel Eriksson successfully attacked him. Ferdinand Habsburg returned from the opening lap in second place, followed by Lando Norris, Callum Ilott, Jehan Daruvala (Carlin) and Pedro Piquet (Van Amersfoort Racing). On lap seven, Lando Norris attacked his team-mate Habsburg, worked his way past the Austrian and then was able to pull a gap from Habsburg. However, he was unable to attack race leader Eriksson, so that the Motopark driver brought an undisputed victory home. Lando Norris took the flag in second place, which was enough to seal the FIA Formula 3 European Championship title early.
Behind Habsburg, Callum Ilott finished fourth at the Formula 1 track of Hockenheim, followed by Jehan Daruvala, Nikita Mazepin (Hitech Grand Prix), Tadasuke Makino (Hitech Grand Prix) and Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam). The German, who was the last remaining rival for Lando Norris in the battle for the title prior to the race, only started from twelfth place and eventually had to make do with tenth position. Because Joel Eriksson, one of Günther’s opponents in the battle for runner-up position in the championship, scored 25 points for his win while Günther only had one point for tenth, the Swede moved ahead of the German and is now second in the drivers’ standings.
Joel Eriksson (Motopark): “My race was really good. Admittedly, my start was worse than Callum’s but I was able to slot in ahead of Lando. On the opening lap, I had a good slipstream in the run to the hairpin and I overtook Callum on the outside. Then, I concentrated on pulling a gap and maintaining it. Now, I am second in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers’ standings and I will do everything to ensure that I will be there at the end of the season as well.”
Lando Norris (Carlin): “Of course, I am happy that I am now the FIA Formula 3 European Champion, even though I wanted to do it at Spielberg already. Prior to the season, my team and I didn’t expect to win the title, but we worked hard and this is the well-deserved reward. However, my rivals, first and foremost Maximilian Günther, also made things pretty difficult for me. This title probably is the most important one in my career so far. In this race, my start wasn’t really good, so I dropped back to third. When I then wanted to overtake Callum, we slightly tangled, allowing Ferdinand to get past the two of us into second place. When he made a mistake later on, I was able to overtake him again. Against Joel, I didn’t have a chance anymore, our pace simply was too similar.”
Ferdinand Habsburg (Carlin): “My start was good and so was the opening lap. In front of me, Callum and Lando were battling. I assumed that this could provide me with an opportunity to gain a place and I positioned myself accordingly. And it was exactly like that, so I was second after one lap. Later, Lando overtook me again, but I was able to bring third place home.”
eom/FIA press release
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Jehan Daruvala finishes 5th in Race 3; Trails 2nd in Rookie standings with six races to go
Jehan Daruvala signing autographs at Nurburgring on Sunday. Image courtesy James Gasperotti Action image of Jehan Daruvala on Sunday. Image by James Gasperotti Bangalore, 14 Sept 2017: Touted as the best racer to have a chance to be the next Indian in an F1 car, Sahara Force India Academy Racer, Jehan Daruvala continued his maiden F3 season with another podium miss but he managed to get strong points in Round 8 of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship at Nurburgring in Germany on Sunday, 10th September.
Meanwhile, at the 3.629 kilometres long Nürburgring sprint circuit, Lando Norris (Carlin) extended his lead in the Championship drivers’ standings. The Brit scored his ninth victory of the season and now has an advantage of 73 points from Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam), who is second in the drivers’ standings. Next to McLaren protégé Norris, British driver Jake Hughes (Hitech Grand Prix) and Estonian Ralf Aron (Hitech Grand Prix) stood on the podium for the prize-giving ceremony.
The third FIA Formula 3 European Championship race at the Nürburgring had a turbulent start. Callum Ilott (Prema Powerteam) took the lead from Norris and Hughes while Guanyu Zhou (Prema Powerteam) and Ferdinand Habsburg (Carlin) collided in the first corner. For both drivers involved in the accident, the race was over and the safety car was deployed. Also on the opening lap, there was contact between Joey Mawson (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Tadasuke Makino (Hitech Grand Prix), after which both drivers had to turn into the pits for quick repair works on their cars.
According to a press release received here on Tuesday, the Indian teenager and former second runner up in the World Karting Championship started tenth in Race 3 and climbed up the order to finish fifth.
The famed Nürburgring racetrack, notoriously known as ‘Green Hell’ once upon a time, was the host for Round 8. Jehan put up a strong performance to finish in the points in all three races of the weekend around the 5.148 km long GP Strecke layout. A full grid of 22 drivers battled for top honours in unpredictable conditions as intermittent rain and sunshine made all sessions extremely tricky in terms of tyre choice and setup.
The 18-year old from Mumbai showed immense skill and maturity to stay out of trouble throughout and his consistency ensured that he finished in the points in all three races with a best finish of 5th in an incident-filled race three.
FIA Formula 3 is the toughest junior racing category in the world, having produced some of the best racing talents ever known including Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Ayrton Senna & Michael Schumacher.
Jehan qualified 10th for the final race of the weekend and had a good start as the lights went out. The Mumbai teenager did well to keep out of trouble as drivers clashed and clattered around him. Going into the steep downhill turn one, he stuck to the inside while Ferdinand Habsburg and Guanyu Zhou came together and retired instantly. With chaos reigning all around him, Jehan kept his head down, picking off his opponents one at a time. Shortly thereafter, the safety car was deployed and by then Jehan was already in a strong sixth place.
As the field circulated behind the safety car for a few laps, attempting to keep their tyres and brakes warm for the restart, it was clear that the bunched-up field would result in more overtaking opportunities as drivers prepared to go racing once again. Jehan ensured that he placed his car perfectly behind Japanese racer Marino Sato in fifth place; and managed to overtake almost as soon as the race went green.
The top five group including Jehan proceeded to break away from the rest of the pack and Jehan was embroiled in a close dual with Callum Illot, but the British racer defended strongly. As the race progressed, a yawing 10-second gap separated Jehan from the sixth place finisher by the time he crossed the chequered flag. McLaren Junior – Lando Norris won the race ahead of Jake Hughes.
“It was a pretty tough weekend in terms of conditions which were never consistent but we were able to stay in the points and finish in the top five in the last race so I think it was good work all around”, said Jehan.
The Indian driver is now sixth in drivers’ overall standings and second in rookie standings with two rounds to go and while there is a considerable gap to fifth placed Briton Jake Hughes in the overall tally, Jehan is focused on finishing his rookie Formula 3 season in the top five. “With only Spielberg and Hockenheim remaining, I want to finish in the top five in the championship. There are still six races to go and so I am really looking forward to concluding the season on a strong note”, he added.
Jehan will now race at the Redbull Ring at Spielberg in Austria on the 23rd & 24th of September.
eom/press release from Rayo Racing
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Lando Norris gets season’s 7th win: GP3
Zandvoort, 20 Aug 2017: British driver Lando Norris (Carlin), who is supported by the McLaren Formula 1 team, scored his seventh win of the season in the 2017 FIA Formula 3 European Championship. Second place went to Ferdinand Habsburg (Carlin), German Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam) finished third. Norris, who was also the best rookie in the field, extended his lead in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers’ standings to eleven points from his nearest rival Günther. Indian racer Jehan Daruvala finished 13th.
Lando Norris took the lead at the start and already returned from the opening lap with a margin of almost one second. From the very beginning, Ferdinand Habsburg was in second place, followed by Maximilian Günther, Guanyu Zhou (Prema Powerteam) and Callum Ilott (Prema Powerteam). Jake Hughes (Hitech Grand Prix) was in sixth place, but soon saw Ilott in front of him pull away. Behind the Brit, who had scored a podium finish in the second race at Zandvoort, a group of ten drivers, Hughes included, assembled.
On lap eleven, Callum Ilott headed into the pits to have the front wing of his car replaced and rejoined the race in last place. Thus, Jake Hughes moved up into fifth position, but at that time already was ten seconds down on Guanyu Zhou, who was fourth.
Out in front, Lando Norris had established a lead of over five seconds on his team-mate Ferdinand Habsburg. For a long time, the Austrian was unable to pull away from his rival Maximilian Günther, but his margin was always sufficient to avoid any danger. Thus, first to fourth position were already taken early: Lando Norris went on to win from Ferdinand Habsburg, Maximilian Günther and Guanyu Zhou.
The battles for positions in the midfield were a little closer, Nikita Mazepin (Hitech Grand Prix) repeatedly tried to overtake his team-mate Ralf Aron (Hitech Grand Prix). The Estonian, who temporarily also put Harrison Newey (Van Amersfoort Racing) under pressure, managed to keep the Russian at bay. With five minutes remaining, Pedro Piquet (Van Amersfoort Racing) tried to overtake Jake Hughes on the outside at Tarzan corner, but the Hitech driver successfully defended his position. Meanwhile, Nikita Mazepin had to slot in behind rookie driver Joey Mawson and lost his ninth place to the Australian. Mazepin wanted to counter, but didn’t succeed. Thus, the finish order from fifth place onwards was: Jake Hughes from Pedro Piquet, Harrison Newey, Ralf Aron, Joey Mawson and Nikita Mazepin.
Lando Norris (Carlin): “There is not too much to say about this race. My start was fairly good, so that I didn’t have to defend my first place in the first corner. I am happy that my starts here at Zandvoort worked out so well. Apart from that, I almost went off the track once because, I believe, the wind had turned and I made a mistake. But it went well and I am happy with my second win of this weekend.”
Ferdinand Habsburg (Carlin): “In the first two races of the weekend, my pace wasn’t great, but we looked at the data and the videos and managed to make a significant improvement. After a few laps, it went really well and in sector two, which was my main problem, I was really fast. This year, we have made a good step ahead. I started rather at the back, but now, I am on the podium for the third time already. Driving in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship is fun. I would love to benefit from what I have learned and then be a contender for the title next season.”
Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam): “This weekend wasn’t what I had expected. Eventually, we have two podium finishes, but I wanted more. For me, this race wasn’t too exciting, because overtaking is nearly impossible here. Thus, third place was the maximum I could achieve.”
eom/FIA press release
