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Tag: Jehan Daruvala
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Jehan Daruvala heads in another F2 season with high hopes, qualifies P11
Mumbai, 3 March 2023: Indian racing star Jehan Daruvala heads into this weekend’s Bahrain Formula 2 season-opener with high hopes as a last-ditch effort in his endeavours to enter F1. However, his opening day of the season saw him qualify in P11.
The other Indian racer in the F1, Kush Maini qualified P6 today.
Returning to the track where he scored his first-ever F2 win, the 24-year-old, who will race for reigning champions MP Motorsport this season, will be looking for a change in fortunes. He raced to victory in 2020 around the venue’s outer loop layout having already taken a third-place finish around the more traditional 5.4-km long configuration a week earlier.
Jehan followed that up with two second places in 2021 and last year. Heading into this weekend, he has his sights firmly set on extending that podium streak to kick off a campaign Jehan hopes will see him become the first Indian to win the F2 title.
Jehan said, “I can’t wait to go racing again. I enjoyed the break but now, batteries recharged, I am really excited about starting this new journey with MP Motorsport. We go into the weekend on the back of a strong, productive three days of testing. I’m feeling comfortable in the car, our long run pace looks good, which is always crucial around a track like Bahrain and I love racing around here. It’s a layout that suits my driving style and I’m optimistic we can come away with another strong result this weekend.”
Jehan DARUVALA, of MP Motorsport file photo of pre-season test at Sakhir. Photo by Sebastiaan Rozendaal / Dutch Photo Agency Jehan has established himself as a front-runner in Formula 2 with a haul of four wins and 15 podiums over three seasons in the series. He is also eligible for a Formula One superlicence having successfully completed three F1 test sessions with former champions McLaren.
The 24-year-old is also a Formula E reserve for Indian manufacturer Mahindra Racing, a role he will combine with his F2 campaign.
Headquartered in the Netherlands, MP Motorsport last year became only the second team in Formula 2 history to achieve the title double. The outfit chalked up five races wins with championship winner Felipe Drugovich and also scored seven further podiums.
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Jehan Daruvala Joins Mahindra Racing Formula E Team
Banbury, 30 Nov 2022: Mahindra Racing today announced the signing of single-seater ace Jehan Daruvala as the team’s Reserve Driver for Season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The 24-year-old racer is the first and only Indian F2 race winner, and recently completed three F1 tests with McLaren.
In his role at Mahindra Racing, Jehan will spend time at the team’s Banbury HQ, working on the simulator alongside engineers, providing car development and race support for drivers Lucas Di Grassi and Oliver Rowland. There are plans for him to attend some races, including the team’s inaugural home ePrix in Hyderabad, India scheduled for February 2023.
Jehan, a four-time Formula 2 race winner and multiple-time podium sitter, has enjoyed an impressive single-seater career. He made a swift rise up the junior formula ladder to step up to the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2019, where he achieved two wins and finished third in the championship in his rookie year. He was then promoted to FIA Formula 2, where he has been making an impact on track for the past three seasons. In 2021, he came third in the F3 Asian Championship, racing for Indian outfit Mumbai Falcons. He achieved three race wins and a further five podiums, as well as three pole positions and fastest laps.
Photo: Mahindra Racing Speaking about the signing, Asha Kharga, Chairperson, Mahindra Racing, stated, “We are delighted to welcome Jehan to our team. As a founding member, Mahindra Racing has diligently worked towards promoting Formula E globally and we are pleased to bring a young, accomplished Indian race driver to this fantastic sport. Jehan, with his experience and results across single-seaters, will add a great wealth of knowledge to our development program. With Formula E’s debut race in India, this is an especially exciting year for us, and we are excited to give the Indian fans a truly global experience.”
Speaking about joining the Mahindra Racing team, Jehan Daruvala, said, “To be a part of an Indian motorsport team is a dream come true. Formula E is very competitive, and I am really excited about this new chapter of my career. Season 9 promises to be very exciting with the all-new Gen 3 car and I am looking forward to learning and contributing, especially to car development and supporting the team. Mahindra Racing’s pioneering efforts in promoting sustainability globally are commendable and I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute.”
Mahindra Racing make this signing at the dawn of a new era in the FIA Formula E World Championship. Season 9 will see the debut of the all-new Gen 3 car, as well as three exciting new race locations. Following the renewal of Rowland’s contract and the signing of Formula E World Champion Lucas Di Grassi, the team looks to make a return to the front.
Mahindra Racing has a strong set of partners, including powertrain partner ZF and e-fluids partner Shell. Maurice Lacroix, the luxury Swiss watchmaker, continues as the Official Timekeeper.
About Mahindra Racing
Mahindra Racing is a founding team – and the only Indian team – to compete in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the world’s first all-electric street racing series. Mahindra Racing has an impressive stats sheet and is a multi-race winning outfit after scoring its breakthrough victory at the Berlin E-Prix in 2017. The squad is committed not only to pushing the limits of technology and innovation in the electric vehicle space, but to addressing the impact of climate change; it was the first Formula E team to be awarded the FIA Environmental Accreditation Three-Star rating and is certified Net Zero Carbon footprint since inception, demonstrating best practice and excellence in sustainability.
About ABB FIA Formula E World Championship
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship brings intense and unpredictable all-electric racing to the heart of iconic cities around the world. With more automotive manufacturers on the grid than any other motorsport, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is not only one of the most compelling racing series on the planet but also an unparalleled proving ground for race-to-road electric vehicles and sustainable mobility technology.
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Kush Maini tests F2 car for Campos Racing: Post-season test
Abu Dhabi, 22 Nov 2022: Kush Maini, the rising Indian talent completed 20 laps successfully in the pre-season F2 Test for his new team Campos Racing at the Yas Mairna Circuit here on Wednesday.
Maini clocked a best lap time of 1min 37.982sec on the first day in office in the new F2 machine and posted 20 laps in the morning session and went on to improve in the afternoon session standing 7th in the time-sheets after a productive 34 laps. Top Indian racer Jehan Daruvala, too took part in the post-season test for MP Motorsport and logged 29 laps in the morning and 30 laps in the evening.
It was a bright and early start for the field at the Yas Marina Circuit. Having already signed on for the 2023 season with Campos Racing, Ralph Boschung set the initial benchmark of a 1:37.820 during a relatively quiet opening 30 minutes of the Morning session.
Later, Kush Maini despite some initial hiccups had some valuable seat time and managed to gain good experience. There were three Red Flag appearances during the final hour and a half of the opening session. Enzo Fittipaldi for Carlin and Campos’ Kush Maini stopped on track in separate incidents but were both able to continue their run programmes later. Testing will resume at 9AM local time on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Campos Racing announced that Maini was signed to race in the F2 series for 2023. The Indian who has made excellent progress in recent seasons took part in the F3 races and enjoyed a podium despite a roller-coaster year.
Maini will drive a Campos Racing-entered Dallara F2 car alongside previously announced Ralph Boschung.
Campos Racing are delighted to announce that Kush Maini will join their driver line-up for the 2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship season at the wheel of one of their Dallara F2 2018 cars. Kush will join previously announced Ralph Boschung securing a lineup with a great mix of experience, new blood and driving skills.
Maini was born in Bangalore (India) on 22 September 2000 and made his single-seater racing debut in 2016 by competing in the Italian F4 Championship. Maini rapidly showed his talent as he managed to step onto the podium on his season debut. The Indian talent was then Vice-Champion in the 2020 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with 3 wins and 12 podium to his name. He entered the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship season with promising results as he also visited the podium.
Kush becomes the second Maini taking part in the FIA Formula 2 with Campos Racing as his elder brother Arjun joined the Spanish-based racing team for selected rounds back in 2019.
Both Boschung and Maini will carry out FIA Formula 2’s post-season collective testing in Abu Dhabi on 23-25 November in preparation for the 2023 season.
Adrián Campos (Campos Racing Team Principal): “On behalf of Campos Racing, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Kush (Maini). He is a very committed, professional racing driver with a great work capacity, so we expect he will be able to complete a strong rookie season next year. He carried out some strong performances in FIA Formula 3 this season and hopefully he will make further improvements in the ultra-competitive FIA F2 Championship.”
Kush Maini (Campos Racing Driver of FIA formula 2): “Super happy to be joining campos racing team! I’ve spent some time with the team at their workshop and really enjoyed the atmosphere and the professionalism, looking forward to the 3-day test at Abu Dhabi to officially start our relationship together! I would like to thank Mumbai Falcons, Omega Seiki Mobility and JK Racing for all their support”
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Jehan Daruwala takes a superb Feature race win at Monza: F2
MONZA (Italy), 11 Sept. 2022: India’s Jehan Daruvala raced to his fourth Formula 2 win in the championship’s main Feature race at Italy’s Monza race track here on Sunday.
The 23-year-old started sixth on the grid but used a mix of strategy, race craft and tyre management to capitalise on a safety car and red flag-interrupted race and clinched a comfortable win around the hallowed ‘Temple of Speed’.
The win was Jehan’s first this season. It comes after the Red Bull-backed racer went from fifth to third in Saturday’s Sprint race, making it two podiums from two races for Jehan this weekend and eight this year.
It was also his sixth top-three finish at Monza and second win at the track after the Indian won there last year.
“What a weekend,” said Jehan. “It’s been a long time coming. We’ve had the win taken away from us for one reason or another on more than one occasion this year. But we’ve kept our heads down, kept believing, kept pushing and we’ve finally done it.
“And what a venue to do it at, too! Monza is up there with one of my all-time favourite tracks and standing on the top step of this incredible podium, out over the main straight with the Indian National Anthem playing out, feels so, so special.”
Jehan made a good getaway, but starting on the dirty side of the grid got bogged down after the initial start.
Nevertheless, he kept sixth as the field went through the first chicane but lost a place to Juri Vips as he lifted in anticipation of a safety car after an opening-lap shunt involving Ralph Boschung and Theo Pourchaire.
The safety car wasn’t deployed until later, however, and Jehan was forced to defend from Jack Doohan on the run to the second Roggia chicane.
The pair went wheel-to-wheel in the braking zone with Logan Sargeant making it three-wide into the chicane. Doohan, with Jehan on the inside and Sargeant on the outside had nowhere to go and ended up colliding with Jehan.
The Red Bull-backed racer however suffered only minor damage and carried on as the safety car was finally deployed.
Racing resumed at the end of Lap 5 with Jehan running seventh. But a crash for Calan Williams at the Ascari chicane brought the safety car back out on Lap 8.
Jehan seized the opportunity to pit, with the perfectly timed stop eventually moving him up to third once his other rivals had pitted.
That left him perfectly placed to battle for the win as the red flag was deployed to allow track workers to clear away Williams’ stranded Trident and carry out repairs to the barriers.
The race resumed after a ten-minute stoppage. Jehan went on to put on a masterclass of tyre management and race craft as he bided his time at first before piling the pressure on to race leader Richard Verschoor and second-placed Marino Sato.
He passed Sato on Lap 18 of 30 and was hot on Verschoor’s heels. But the Trident racer, struggling with tyre wear, dived into pits with just five laps to go, handing Jehan a lead he would keep until the chequered flag.
“This weekend’s result couldn’t have come at a better time as we now head to Abu Dhabi for the season-finale,” added Jehan.
“The Yas Marina track is another venue I like and I won there last year. So going there on the back of a weekend like this one gives us a major boost.”
The Formula 2 championship, which acts as a support series for Formula One, will have the chance for a bit of a break as F1 embarks on its Asian and American swing.
The championship will return for it’s last and final round of the season on the Nov. 18-20th weekend alongside the Formula One season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Picture Credits – James Gasperotti
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Jehan Daruvala returns to F3 podium at Monza
Monza (Italy), 10 Sept. 2022: Indian racer Jehan Daruvala returned to the podium with a third-placed finish in the Formula 2 Sprint race at Italy’s historic Monza race track on Saturday.
The 23-year-old, who started fifth on the grid, crossed the line seven seconds behind winner Juri Vips and runner-up Frederik Vesti.
“It feels good to be back,” said Jehan, after taking his seventh top-three finish of the season.
“It’s been a tough few weeks before this. I feel alive again and it feels nice to be back at the front.”
Jehan’s podium, his fifth at Monza, was founded on a lightning start.
The Red Bull-backed driver went wheel-to-wheel with Logan Sargeant right off the line, with the pair going side-by-side in a heart-stopping battle all the way through the first chicane and the long, high-speed Curva Grande.
Jehan, on the inside, defended robustly going into the second chicane to come out ahead.
A brief safety car followed and while Jehan held his position at the restart, Sargeant slipstreamed past him soon after.
The Prema Racing driver, however, fought back, getting past the American racer and setting his sights on fellow Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa.
He made short work of Iwasa to move up to third and comfortably held on to the final podium spot to the end of the race.
“We had the pace once again to fight at the front and we showed what we could do,” Jehan added.
“We’re starting in a similar position for tomorrow and we can draw a lot of encouragement from the result today to aim for another strong finish tomorrow.”
Jehan now heads into Sunday’s main Feature race for which he will start sixth.
The young Indian has a strong record around the hallowed ‘Temple of Speed’, as Monza is known, and took his second Formula 2 win there last year.
With his Prema Racing team back on form for their home race Jehan has his sights set on making it two podiums from two races this weekend.
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Jehan’s rich haul with 2nd in Sprint & 7th in Feature race: F2
The 23-year-old leaves the Paul Ricard weekend with a strong haul of points
Le Castellet (France) 24 July 2022: Indian racer Jehan Daruvala scored his sixth podium of the season in the French round of the Formula 2 championship, as he left the Paul Ricard track with yet another strong points-scoring weekend.
Jehan started Saturday’s Sprint race from pole position and after a lightning start led into the first corner. He was comfortably holding his own at the front when an incident involving three cars brought out the safety car.
Jehan timed the restart to perfection, allowing him to open up a small gap to second-placed Liam Lawson. But the latter’s superior straight-line speed allowed him to close in.
It looked like it would only be a matter of time before Lawson used his car’s superior speed down the straights to get past Jehan and sure enough the Kiwi swept around the outside into Turn 1.
Jehan held his line but the pair touched which opened up a tear on Jehan’s front tyre. But he fortunately didn’t suffer a puncture.
A few laps later Marcus Armstrong attempted to pass Jehan for second at the same corner but on the inside. They made contact but Jehan, forced wide across the chicane, kept his position.
He had to slow down significantly, however, to give up any advantage he may have gained, which allowed Lawson to pull clear at the front.
Armstrong was handed a five-second penalty for forcing Jehan off the track
On Sunday, Jehan started the Feature race from 10th on the grid. But he fought his way up to seventh as a combination of strategy, which put Jehan in the lead before his stops, and blistering speed after his late switch to fresh tyres, saw him climb up the order.
Jehan said, “It’s good to be back on the podium after what happened in Silverstone and Austria. We were struggling with pace down the straights but had some good battles to finish 2nd. We would have finished even higher in the Feature race with our strategy to run a long first stint but we gambled on a safety car and stayed out a bit longer than ideal. Other than that, it was a solid weekend for us. We still have some areas to work on and I’m confident we’ll come back stronger next weekend in Hungary.”
Jehan’s second-place finish in France was his fifth this season. The 23-year-old, who races for Italian team Prema, was robbed of a potential fourth F2 victory by a post-race penalty in the last round in Austria.
The Red Bull-backed racer, who earlier this week completed a second Formula One test with McLaren, now heads to Hungary, the last round of a busy month of racing before the annual summer break.
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Jehan Daruvala to Test McLaren F1 car MCL35M for the second time
Mumbai, 16 July 2022: Indian racing ace Jehan Daruvala will take part in a second two-day Formula One (F1) test with former champions McLaren at the Portimao Circuit in Portugal next week.
A release sadi that the test, during which Jehan would once again drive the 2021 race-winning MCL35M. The test will take place on July 18 & 19 and comes shortly after Indycar star Colton Herta and McLaren test and development driver Will Stevens ran in the car earlier this week.
Jehan completed over 130 laps of Silverstone during his first Formula 1 outing with the British team last month during which he impressed with his fitness, how quickly he adapted to F1 machinery, his feedback and his ability to assimilate information from the engineers.
Next week’s test in Portimao, his second time in a Formula One car, will allow Jehan to build on that strong outing and further prepare him as he bids to become only the third Indian to race at the pinnacle of the sport.
Jehan, who currently competes with Prema Racing in feeder series Formula 2, is a part of the Red Bull Junior Team. He is now eligible for a Formula One Super License, having both the required points and mileage in last year’s F1 car.
The Portimao test, like the Silverstone outing, is part of McLaren’s Testing Previous Car (TPC) programme, which the team is running to evaluate young, up and coming drivers.
The Mumbai Falcons, who are supporting Jehan’s Formula 2 title bid, said, “The second McLaren test marks yet another milestone in Jehan’s journey to Formula 1. He impressed on his F1 debut at Silverstone and we are confident that with this second test Jehan will continue to prove that he belongs on the Grand Prix grid. This is a truly gratifying moment for Indian motorsports and for us particularly. Our mission is to showcase the best of Indian motorsport talent to the world and we are proud to support Jehan as he pursues his dream of becoming only the third Indian to race in F1.”
Jehan said: “My first taste of Formula One machinery was surreal and I can’t wait to get back in the car again in Portimao. I came away from the Silverstone test with a lot of confidence as both from a driving and physical perspective I did well and covered more than two race distances absolutely trouble-free. My dream has always been to race in Formula One and this test will build on what we achieved at Silverstone. I am thankful to both Red Bull and McLaren for giving me this opportunity and continuing to support my development.”
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Harsh post-race penalty robs Daruvala of a ‘win’ in Austria
The 23-year-old was provisionally classified second but a 20-second penalty drops him down the classification
The Red Bull-backed racer was perfectly poised to inherit victory after provisional winner Verschoor was disqualified
SPIELBERG, 10 July 2022: Indian racer Jehan Daruvala put in a stirring drive from 11th to second in Sunday’s Formula 2 feature race in Austria but was robbed of his sixth podium of the season by a post-race penalty.
Jehan had finished a provisional second after an inspired strategy call to start the race on slick tyres on a damp track and searing pace from the Red Bull-backed racer in the tricky conditions saw him make rapid progress up the field.
But a 20-second time penalty, handed out after stewards deemed the Prema Racing team had attempted to dry the track surface at Jehan’s grid spot, negated his brilliant run.
The penalty was all the more disappointing as Jehan was briefly in with a chance of inheriting the race win after provisional winner Richard Verschoor was disqualified for a fuel irregularity.
Jehan said, “I’m absolutely gutted. All season luck has been against us and just when I thought things were finally going our way we get hit with a penalty.
We did everything right today. I was expecting a tough race from 11th on the grid and, while it was tricky, we read the conditions perfectly today. The team made the right strategy call on the tyres and I was able to maximise it with my pace in the wet. It’s difficult to find the positives after having a result we fought hard for taken away from us in this fashion. We could have taken big points off our rivals today but I can still take encouragement from my pace today. We now have a weekend off before the next run of back-to-back races and it’s now full focus on Paul Ricard and Budapest. We just need to keep pushing and I’m sure our day will come.”
Jehan’s pace in the changing conditions was formidable. He built up a sizeable gap and then timed his one and only pitstop to perfection, coming in on lap 13.
The penalty in Austria was the latest in a series of Sunday misfortunes that have cost Jehan a strong result in feature races this season.
An ill-timed safety car cost him a potential victory in Imola. In Barcelona an electrical problem sidelined Jehan on the fourth lap just when he was ideally placed to benefit from running the alternative strategy.
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Jehan Daruvala finishes 7th in Feature race: F2
Silverstone, 3 July 2022: Indian racer Jehan Daruvala endured a character-building weekend at the Silverstone round of the Formula 2 championship as he finished outside the top-three for only the second time in seven rounds but still came away with a double points finish.
The 23-year-old finished 8th in the Sprint and 7th in the Feature race respectively, taking home a total of seven points on a weekend of damage limitation for the lead Red Bull-backed racer in the standings.
Jehan started Saturday’s Sprint race from pole on a wet track and established a comfortable early lead. But the car, set up for mixed conditions, did not allow the wet weather tyres to be used to their optimum which led to them overheating and Jehan struggling for grip. Prema team mate Dennis Hauger, who finished 15th, suffered similarly.
Fired up to make amends in Sunday’s Feature race, Jehan, starting on the harder prime tyre, decided to play the long game. He looked after his tyres during the early stages of the race and, while briefly in the lead, unleashed his speed as his pitstop approached.
He continued lighting up the timing screens on the grippier option tyre as he fought his way back up the order.
Jehan showed strong pace all weekend. But getting a strong result in Sunday’s Feature race was always going to be an uphill task, with Jehan starting 10th after the qualifying strategy of setting one flying lap per tyre set did not work as most of his rivals found more pace on their second ‘push’ laps
Jehan said, “This wasn’t our weekend but that’s motor-racing sometimes. While I’m naturally disappointed, there are still positives that we can take away. The next race at the Red Bull Ring is only a week away. It’s a home race for us Red Bull juniors. We’ve shown both pace and consistency over the course of this season and I’m confident we can bounce back next weekend in Austria.”
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Jehan Daruvala takes a creditable 2nd, misses win by a whisker
BAKU, 11 June 2022: Indian racer Jehan Daruvala came within half a second of his first Formula 2 win of the season in the Azerbaijan round’s Sprint race on Saturday.
The Red Bull-backed Prema driver crossed the line just 0.380 seconds behind ART’s Frederik Vesti at the end of a safety car-disrupted race.
The 23-year-old started third and, having vaulted into the lead with a masterful display of race craft at the start was on course for a dominant win around the unforgiving streets of Baku.
He had even kept the lead through the first of three safety car periods, which wiped out his 4-second advantage. But a slight lock up on cold brakes at the second safety car restart allowed Vesti to slip past just three laps from the finish.
Jehan said, “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed but I’m still happy with the race I did. I had a great start, had everything under control and felt I deserved the win. It’s a shame to miss out by such a narrow margin but we’ll take the positives from this and now focus on Sunday’s feature race.”
Saturday’s second-place finish was Jehan’s fifth from six rounds this season and 12th overall in Formula 2. It is also the fourth time this season that he has finished in the runner-up spot and keeps him third in the overall drivers’ standings.
Jehan, a three-time Formula 2 winner, will get another shot at scoring a strong result on Sunday when he lines up for the longer Feature race ahead of the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix.
