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Tag: Kush Maini
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Kush Maini takes pole to flag victory in the Monaco Sprint race: F2
Monaco, 24 May 2025: Indian star Kush Maini secured victory in the Monte Carlo Sprint Race for DAMS Lucas Oil, converting pole position around the Principality in the FIA Formula 2 World Champioinships.
The Indian driver held off fellow Alpine Academy talent Gabriele Minì, who finished second for PREMA Racing. Luke Browning inherited third for Hitech TGR after a time penalty for Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad.
AS IT HAPPENED
Maini got the perfect start, but Luke Browning fell down the order to fifth by Turn 1. His poor getaway allowed Gabriele Minì to climb up to P2.
Into Mirabeau, Lindblad attempted a pass on Jak Crawford for third but contact between the two allowed Browning back past for fourth and ahead of the American. The Campos driver emerged from the tangle in third but was later handed a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision.
With DRS enabled, Minì was on the rear wing of the race leader, the gap hovering at 0.3s in the opening 10 laps while the pair pulled over eight seconds clear of Lindblad in third.
The gap was neutralised on Lap 12 when the Safety Car was deployed to recover Joshua Duerksen’s AIX Racing #20. The Paraguayan driver was left in the barriers ahead of Portier following contact with MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe out of Mirabeau that left the AIX with race-ending damage.
Back to racing conditions entering Lap 15, Maini escaped from DRS range to Minì behind while Lindblad had Browning right on his gearbox in the battle for third on the road.
Goethe was on the move again, sneaking his MP car up the inside of Victor Martins at La Rascasse to take P9 on the road. Contact between the pair though resulted in a 10-second time penalty for Goethe.
With 10 laps to go, Minì was back to within 0.2s of the race leader, while Lindblad had dropped back by over 10 seconds in order to set up a late-race charge to minimise his time penalty.
The Red Bull Junior Team driver was told to push on Lap 22, and he immediately upped his pace to put a buffer between himself and Browning.
By the final lap, he was on the rear wing of Minì in second with Maini a further couple of seconds up the road.
It allowed the DAMS driver to earn his second F2 victory ahead of Minì, who fended off Lindblad across the line.
With Lindblad’s time penalty applied, it gave Browning P3 and dropped the Campos driver to eighth position.
Crawford wound up fourth ahead of Richard Verschoor, Sebastián Montoya, Leonardo Fornaroli, as Lindblad completed the points in P8.
KEY QUOTE – Kush Maini, DAMS Lucas Oil
“P1, first Indian to win in Monaco too. It’s a great honour and a dream come true. I want to say thank you to DAMS and everyone who has supported me. We keep believing!”
THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Alexander Dunne remains P1 in the Drivers’ Championship on 65 points but Luke Browning moves to within one point of the leader, second on 64. Richard Verschoor is third on 59 points with Leonardo Fornaroli just behind him in fourth on 54. Arvid Lindblad rounds out the top five on 46 points.
Hitech TGR are the Teams’ Standings leaders on 93 points, with Campos Racing second on 87. MP Motorsport are third on 71 points, with Rodin Motorsport and Invicta Racing completing the top five on 65 and 63 points respectively.
UP NEXT
The Feature Race follows on Sunday morning, with Alexander Dunne going from Pole Position and Victor Martins alongside him on the front row. Lights out is scheduled for 09:40 local time.
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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.”
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Kush Maini takes a creditable second at Budapest: F2
Budapest, 20 July 2024: Top Indian star Kush Maini of Bengaluru notched up a creditable podium, taking the second place behind Trident’s Richard Verschoor, who claimed a victory at the Budapest Sprint Race the in Formula 2 world Championship here on Saturday.
The Dutchman was able to pull away from Kush Maini at the end on his way to the top step, with the Invicta Racing driver crossing the line in second ahead of ART Grands Prix’s Victor Martins in third.
AS IT HAPPENED
Temperatures were much cooler for the Sprint compared to Friday’s Qualifying and there was a mix of tyres on the grid, with 12 cars fitted with the Softs, while the rest chose the Hards.
Two of those drivers on the Hards were pole-sitter Verschoor and his fellow front row starter Maini, and while they made good starts, Andrea Kimi Antonelli had fired up his Soft tyres from P4 and went round the outside of the Invicta car at Turn 2, to take second.
His fellow drivers on the red-walled compounds were also flying as Gabriel Bortoleto and Enzo Fittipaldi moved up to P6 and P7 respectively by overtaking Hard tyre runner Isack Hadjar.
The PREMA Racing rookie would not have to wait long to take the lead as he overcame Verschoor’s staunch defence to dive down his inside at Turn 1 at the start of Lap 4.
By the end of Lap 5, Antonelli was over two seconds clear out front, while Maini was beginning to close in on Verschoor for P2, with Martins just behind on his Softs.
On to Lap 7, and Fittipaldi was showing strong pace in his Van Amersfoort Racing car and overtook his fellow Option tyre runner Bortoleto for P6, going round his compatriot’s outside at Turn 1.
But as the drivers set of on Lap 11, what had been a lead of over two seconds for Antonelli had now been closed to 1.6s, as the Hard tyre runners began to come into their own.
Further back, Maini had also created a gap of over two seconds to Martins, who was now defending from Dennis Hauger in the battle for P4.
On Lap 13 of 28, Hadjar used DRS to get ahead of Bortoleto for P7, while Hauger had dropped back from Martins and had fallen to P6 behind Fittipaldi.
Verschoor was now right on the back of Antonelli as they started Lap 16, but the PREMA driver was resisting each attack. However, he could not hold on much longer, running wide at the final corner before locking up into Turn 1, allowing both Verschoor and Maini through.
Unfortunately for Antonelli, his lock up had proven costly as he was falling through the field with Martins, Fittipaldi, Hauger and Hadjar all making their way past before PREMA made the call to pit him for a set of Hards.
Bortoleto was also struggling on his Softs with Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman overtaking him and dropping him to P9 before Invicta also decided to pit him for the Hard tyres.
Back in the midfield, Paul Aron was looking to make up the positions he lost at the start as one of the Prime tyre runners and went round the outside of Jak Crawford at Turn 2 for P12, despite the American’s attempts to take back the position at T4.
But as the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver was battling to get back into the points, his Championship rival Hadjar was up to fourth after overtaking Fittipaldi and Hauger on Lap 21.
Fittipaldi was also struggling on his Softs and after losing out to Hauger and Colapinto, he suffered a puncture on the left front tyre forcing him to pit.
Bearman then lost places to Aron and Taylor Barnard to drop out of the points. He then went three-wide with the DAMS Lucas Oil cars of Crawford and Juan Manuel Correa at Turn 3, with the former emerging ahead in P9.
By the final lap, Verschoor had built a two-second gap out front and crossed the line to take his fourth Formula 2 victory ahead of Maini, with Martins taking the final spot on the podium.
Hadjar ended up in P4 ahead of Hauger and Colapinto, with Aron making his way through to P7 as Barnard rounded out the points in P8.
KEY QUOTE – Richard Verschoor, Trident
“Super happy with today, we made the right choice going on the Prime tyres. I’m very happy with the win but I have the feeling it should have been my third and not my first, so let’s enjoy the moment, the team did a good job and let’s move on to tomorrow.”
THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
After finishing fourth, Championship leader Isack Hadjar moves to 138 points and extends his lead to second place Paul Aron to 119. Third and fourth-placed Zane Maloney and Gabriel Bortoleto failed to score in the Sprint Race but maintain their positions in the Standings although Franco Colapinto has moved to 95 points with his deficit to the Invicta Racing driver now just three.
In the Teams’ Standings, Campos Racing maintain their lead and move to 176 points, however, MP Motorsport scored two more points than them in the Sprint Race and the gap with between the two stands at 11. Invicta Racing are just one point behind in third on 164, while Hitech Pulse-Eight sits fourth on 144 ahead of Rodin Motorsport on 120.
UP NEXT
Next on the schedule is the Budapest Feature Race which is set to take place on Sunday morning at 10:05 local time.
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Resilient Kush Maini takes second place in Sprint race
Barcelona, 22 June 2024: Vicor Martins was a comfortable Sprint Race winner in Barcelona, putting in a measured performance to earn his first victory of the 2024 season. The ART Grand Prix driver seized the lead at lights out and escaped into the distance for the win.
Kush Maini rebounded from a tough opening lap to secure second for Invicta Racing, while Juan Manuel Correa returned to the Formula 2 podium for the first time since 2019, taking third for DAMS Lucas Oil.
AS IT HAPPENED
Maini suffered wheelspin off the line from Pole and dropped to fourth while Martins profited to take the lead on the run to the first corner. Ritomo Miyata swept around the outside at Turn 1 to go from fourth to second, ahead of Correa and Maini.
Onto Lap 2 and Maini made a late dive to the inside of Correa at the opening corner to recover one position. Teammate Gabriel Bortoleto followed him through at Turn 4, going around the outside of the DAMS driver for fourth.
In the battle for seventh, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar fought hard early on, though the Campos Racing driver was unable to find a route through on the PREMA Racing talent.
By Lap 10, Martins was able to escape from DRS range of Miyata behind and led by 1.5s, while the Japanese driver held a 1.1s advantage over Maini in the podium places.
Antonelli had dropped out of DRS range to Paul Aron ahead and after a long time of trying, Hadjar finally cleared the PREMA driver into Turn 1 on Lap 12. Jak Crawford was opportunistic and capitalised, squeezing his way by into Turn 4 to take the final points-paying position in eighth from the Italian.
With 10 laps to go, track limits became a problem for Miyata, and the Rodin driver was assigned a five-second time penalty for one too many breaches. He earned a second time penalty in his struggle to remain ahead of Maini to bring that total up to 10-seconds with five laps remaining.
Further back, Hadjar lost seventh to Crawford as both DAMS cars looked to be taking better care of the tyres than those ahead. Correa was pressuring Bortoleto for the final podium place, but the Brazilian was able to fend him off to maintain position.
Onto the penultimate lap and a sizeable lock-up into Turn 5 was evidence of how hard Bortoleto was pushing to keep Correa behind. However, it gave the American a run into Turn 10 and after diving to the inside, he claimed fourth on the road.
Aron was next to clear Bortoleto, rounding the Invicta driver at Turn 3 on the final lap to take P5, as two corners later Crawford followed through to take sixth from him.
Martins though was untroubled in front to take his first F2 victory since Silverstone in 2023. Maini moved up to second and Correa was third with Miyata’s time penalties.
Aron was fourth ahead of Crawford, Bortoleto, Hadjar and Miyata, who was eighth in the end after his 10-seconds worth of penalties were applied, though he added the fastest lap point to his scoring result.
KEY QUOTE – Victor Martins, ART Grand Prix
“Today’s a win. A bit of a relief after the start of the season. I’m so happy for the ART team, they gave me a really good car today. We’ll keep working, we did everything right today but we’ll go back to work because tomorrow there are other opportunities in front of us, but this feels good. We need to appreciate this moment and work even harder to repeat this moment and get a few more.”
THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Paul Aron remains in the lead of the Drivers’ Championship, adding five points to his tally to move onto 85 in first. Isack Hadjar is second, moving up onto 80 points with P7 in the Sprint. Zane Maloney remains in third on 69 with Dennis Hauger fourth on 56 points, and Gabriel Bortoleto rounds out the top five on 53 points.
In the Teams’ Standings Campos Racing have a six-point lead on 106 over Hitech Pulse-Eight in P2. Invicta Racing are third on 95 points, just one ahead of MP Motorsport in fourth. Rodin Motorsport round out the top five on 87 points.
UP NEXT
The FIA Formula 2 Feature Race is set to get underway around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya at 11:35 local time with Paul Aron going from Pole Position.
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Kush Maini describes F1 test with Alpine as ‘a dream come true’
Bengaluru, 19 June 2024: Kush Maini says he loved every single second of his Formula 1 test with Alpine, driving their 2022-spec A522 in Spielberg earlier this month as part of their young driver test programme.
This was the Invicta Racing driver’s second test for the French outfit – having previously driven their 2021 car last year – but this was his first time in the current generation of ground effect cars.
It’s an occasion he will remember forever as when he reflected on the day, he admitted it was all yet to sink in.
“It was like a dream come true for me, something I’ve been working towards for a very long time,” Maini said. “To have been given the opportunity by Alpine is a dream come true and I really enjoyed every single second of it.
Gautam Maini hugs his son Kush, after the F1 test. Photo courtesy Gautam Maini .in “The car ran faultlessly through the day, we gathered loads of mileage and loads of data, so it’s still slowly sinking in that we drove in F1 but it’s just a very cool feeling.”
Kush Maini in action. Getty Images Talking through the preparations before getting into the car, Maini said: “F1 is very complex compared to a Formula 2 car, so there are lot more procedures to learn, a lot more things to keep in mind.
“So, I did seven days with Alpine on the sim, working with my engineer in the test as well so that I can get familiar with the whole team. Then we basically ran to our run plan in the sim so it’s basically doing it again in real life, so you feel a bit more comfortable.
“It can be a bit overwhelming at the start because there are so many things you have to think about, so it’s very important that those prep days with the team, they got me up to speed very quick and made me feel really comfortable.”
Maini also recalled his first push lap of the test with the immediate level of grip on offer a bit surprise to him, as well as the forces in the high-speed sections.
“It’s just so quick, so much grip,” said Maini. “It’s almost like the car is designed so well that everything works so well that whatever you want the car to do, it does, especially in the high speed.
“You almost think it’s impossible to take so much speed through a corner but then you finish the corner, and you are like I could have taken more speed. It’s trying to go quicker and quicker and quicker because the car can take it, it’s almost like the car is capable of doing anything.”
With the new Formula 2 car introduced this season to be more in line with the current generation of F1 machinery, Maini also explained how that helped him get up to speed quickly during the test.
He says the two cars have obvious differences but also some similarities, even giving a verdict on which is tougher to drive.
“I think obviously it is very different but the F2 car is very fast in the straights,” said Maini. “In the braking there is a lot more force that goes into your body, a lot more Gs in the F1 but I think the brake pedal in some ways can be a bit similar.
“Obviously, no power steering in the F2 car so the car is a bit trickier to drive than F1, so in that way it prepares you well. So, I feel I was quick straight away, so from the F2 car whatever I could take into the F1 car gave me confidence to get up to speed really quick.
“The F1 car is designed really well, and it’s designed to how you want it so it’s going to be easier and you’re going to feel more comfortable pushing it.”
Maini was speaking after jumping out of the simulator as part of his preparations for Barcelona, and while he is still on a high from the test, he is hoping that it will be the start of him getting his Formula 2 season back on track after a tough couple of rounds.
“The high is great but I am currently ninth in the Championship in F2 and it’s definitely not where we should be,” he said. “The last two rounds have been very tough, but the team and I have found out what happened and why we were off the pace.
“So, my whole focus is to get my season back on track and start putting in some solid results to get some solid points in the bag, that’s my only goal right now. I’m sure we can do it, I’m just coming off sim prep with the team, it’s nice to see everyone again.
“I’m feeling good but after a bad few weekends it’s tough to have a long break because you just want to get back, so happy that there is a back-to-back race. Three weekends on the trot, let’s see what we can do.”
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Kush Maini inherits third place in the F2 Sprint; Winner gets a penalty
Melbourne, 23 March 2024: Indian racing star Kush Maini acquired a third place following a penalty to the ‘race winner’ and thus gained important points to move up to the third place in the F3 championship. The Bengaluru driver finished fourth in the race, but moved up after penalties were implemented. “Not the ideal way to get the podium, but we will take the extra point and the trophy,” said Kush Maini after the race.
Following the conclusion of the Formula 2 Sprint Race in Melbourne, multiple drivers have received post-race penalties.
Isack Hadjar has been handed a 10-second time penalty after the Campos Racing driver was found to have caused a collision with his teammate Josep María Martí and Invicta Racing’s Gabriel Bortoleto at the start of the Race.
The Stewards spoke to all three drivers involved and examined video evidence before determining that the Frenchman moved significantly to the right to get a run on the car on Roman Stanek in front of him without realizing that Martí had a significant portion of his car alongside him.
This move caused Martí to move to the right to take avoiding action and as a result he made contact with Bortoleto leading to a second collision. The Stewards determined that Hadjar was predominantly to blame and handed him a 10-second time penalty.
This means that Hadjar loses his victory and drops down to sixth, promoting Trident’s Stanek to P1. MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger takes P2, and Invicta Racing driver Kush Maini moves up to third. The Indian driver also moves up to third in the Drivers’ Championship as a result, now on 33 points.
Moreover, Oliver Bearman has also been handed a 10-second time penalty for forcing PHM AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen off the track.
After the Stewards heard from both drivers and examined all available video evidence, it showed that Bearman was alongside Duerksen at the apex and exit of Turn 4 and. While the PREMA Racing driver raced in a controlled manner, he did not leave a fair and acceptable width for Duerksen at the exit of the corner.
This means Bearman drops from P8 to 15th in the classification, promoting ART Grand Prix driver Zak O’Sullivan up to eighth and giving him the final point in the Sprint Race.
Finally, Jak Crawford has been handed a five-place grid penalty for tomorrow’s Feature Race after the Stewards found that he did not have the correct number of tyres to comply with the Sporting Regulations in relation to the Feature Race.
The Stewards considered the matter extensively and having discussed the situation with a Technical Delegate, concluded that during Qualifying, Crawford rendered the left rear tyres of both “option” compound sets unusable for safety reasons.
It was determined that it was not for reasons of force majeure and therefore Car 7 cannot comply with the regulations as a result. He will drop five places in the Feature Race as this is when the tyre is required to be used.
UP NEXT
The FIA Formula 2 Feature Race from Melbourne is set to get underway at 11:35 local time around Albert Park. Dennis Hauger starts from pole position for MP Motorsport.
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Kush Maini posts a creditable P2 to score 20 points: F2 Feature race
Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), 9 March 2024: Kush Maini bounced back from his Sakhir disappointment with a creditable P2 for Invicta Racing, while Dennis Hauger rounded out the podium by less than a tenth of a second for MP Motorsport after Enzo Fittipaldi took his first Feature Race victory for Van Amersfoort Racing in a thrilling Jeddah spectacle in the FIA Formula 2 World Championship here on Saturday.
With the 20 points earned in the Feature race, Maini is now in fifth place with 27 points in the rankings.
The Brazilian pulled off an audacious three-wide pass for the win, while the fight for the final podium places ended in a drag race across the line.
AS IT HAPPENED
Maini got the perfect launch to keep the lead into Turn 1 while Andrea Kimi Antonelli was up to fourth for PREMA Racing. Out of the opening chicane, Josep María Martí was a first-lap retirement after a spin left the Spaniard with damage while Trident’s Roman Stanek couldn’t avoid the Campos Racing car.
The stranded cars required a Safety Car before the drivers made it round for Lap 2.
Back to green flag conditions, Maini retained the lead comfortably as he opened up the gap on his supersofts to Jak Crawford behind.
Entering Lap 6, Hauger moved clear of Victor Martins for fifth but lost out to both the ART Grand Prix driver and Campos’ Isack Hadjar on the main straight without a tow.
Having fallen out of DRS, Crawford became the first to pit for mediums at the end of the lap and he was followed in by Hauger, Richard Verschoor and Paul Aron.
Hadjar was on the move again, getting the better of his compatriot Martins into Turn 1 to take fourth on the road.
A fast-starting Juan Manuel Correa moved himself up to fifth with an ambitious dive on Martins at Turn 27 to round out a torrid lap for the Alpine Academy driver. He pitted on Lap 8, following Maini, Fittipaldi, Antonelli and Hadjar in for their mandatory stops.
Crawford lost out with his earlier stop as the DAMS Lucas Oil driver fell behind Antonelli. The American battled through with his tyres up to temperature though, clearing the Italian as they approached Turn 22 on the PREMA driver’s outlap.
A snap out of the final corner though re-opened the door for the Mercedes Junior Team member, and he reclaimed sixth into Turn 1. However, he ran deep under braking and Crawford took the place back, while Fittipaldi ahead had escaped DRS range.
Lap 10 and Hadjar dived down the inside at Turn 27 again to demote Antonelli, but a nice switchback for the PREMA driver allowed him to retake the place into Turn 1.
One lap on and the Campos returned the favour, using DRS to pass Antonelli again, taking seventh on the road at the first corner. Just behind them, Zane Maloney moved himself into the points with a straightforward pass on Martins under braking.
While Maini had retained the net race lead, Fittipaldi had tracked the Invicta driver down and on Lap 13, dived to the inside of the Indian driver to take fourth position.
Martins’ struggles continued as Franco Colapinto demoted the Frenchman to 12th on Lap 14, using DRS into the first corner. The MP Motorsport driver’s joy was short-lived though as on the following tour, he spun into retirement at Turn 1 after tagging the barriers out of Turn 27 the previous lap. His spin brought out the Safety Car once again.
Correa, Amaury Cordeel and Taylor Barnard had yet to pit on the mediums, but only the latter two used the chance to pit for supersofts.
The Safety Car was withdrawn entering Lap 19, and Fittipaldi was on the attack immediately. He passed Barnard to take third position while Maini made a move on Crawford to take fifth position out of Turn 2. An issue for Hadjar dropped him out of the points and later forced the Frenchman to retire.
Cordeel got himself to within DRS range of Correa entering Lap 21 and the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver took the lead of the race into Turn 1. Maini was again down the inside of a rival at the first corner, this time taking fourth from Barnard.
Correa stuck with the new leader though, as Fittipaldi homed in on the pair of them. He swept around the outside of them both to take the lead at Turn 1 going three-wide in the process in a daring pass.
Cordeel was on the defensive with Correa passing him into the first corner but as the pair squabbled on corner exit, Maini was able to clear the Belgian to improve to third on the road.
A Virtual Safety Car was deployed after a spin for Zak O’Sullivan at Turn 2. His ART car was cleared, and racing got back underway again as the leader started Lap 25.
Correa finally made his stop on Lap 26 to leave Maini, Cordeel, Crawford, Antonelli and Hauger to scrap for the podium places.
The MP driver forced Antonelli to defend at the last corner and going into Lap 27, the Norwegian claimed P5 with DRS into Turn 1.
Onto the final lap and Maini led a DRS train down to fifth but up front, Fittipaldi went untroubled after his incredible move to take his first F2 Feature Race win and second in the Championship.
Maini kept P2 for Invicta but a three-wide drag race for the final podium position went the way of Hauger, who finished just 0.031s ahead of Crawford in fourth and Cordeel, who dropped to fifth by 0.127s.
Antonelli came across the line in sixth ahead of Maloney in P7, Verschoor in P8. Rafael Villagómez capped off a great day for Van Amersfoort in ninth and Martins took his first point of the year with P10 in the end.
KEY QUOTE – Enzo Fittipaldi, Van Amersfoort Racing
“It was a really good race. Everyone from Van Amersfoort gave me an amazing car. We were absolutely flying out there. Even after the Virtual and normal Safety Car, we still won by almost eight seconds, so we were flying. I’m just so happy to get the win in just the second round and to be in the fight for the Championship.”
THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Maloney leads the way in the Drivers’ Championship, moving onto 47 points at the top. Fittipaldi’s Feature Race win and fastest lap moves him up to second on 32 points, with Hauger third one point further back. Aron is fourth on 28 points with Maini rounding out the top five just behind him on 27.
In the Teams’ Standings, Rodin Motorsport remain in front on 49, seven points clear of Invicta Racing in P2. MP Motorsport move onto 39 points in third, one point ahead of Hitech Pulse- Eight. Van Amersfoort Racing lift themselves up to P5 on 34 after their double score on Saturday.
UP NEXT – MELBOURNE
Formula 2 heads down under for Round 3 and a visit to Melbourne for the second time in the Championship’s history. Who will become the next winner in a thrilling 2024 season? Tune in from 22-24 March.
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Kush Maini rallies from P22 to P7 after missing pole start: F2
Sakhir (Bahrain) 2 March 2024: Despite securing a pole for the Feature race, Kush Maini, driving for the Invicta team, starting absolutely last in the opening round of the Formula 2 Championship due to a technical infringement and subsequent disqualification of the qualifying time, but did a fantastic job to finish the 32-lap race in P7.
Kush, who is part of the Alpine academy, driving car number 9 went on the Prime tires like the majority of the drivers and ensured that he had a long and consistent stint before changing to the faster Soft tires.
He was the last to pit and fortunately well timed with a Safety car and he exited the Pits in P11. With Fresher tires he made good progress through the field by first passing both the Prema cars driven by Bearman and Antonelli. Was continuously closing the gap till he finished the race in P7.
SAKHIR (BH), Kush Maini #09 take P7 in the Round 1 Feature race at Bahrain Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit for Invicta Racing. Photo by Dutch Photo Agency After the race, Kush Maini said,” I was really happy when we got Provisional Pole on Thursday because that meant that we were able to deliver over one Lap. Was a day with the highest of highs and then the Low when we were told much later that my Qualifying times wouldn’t count because I was disqualified due to a technical reason. Even though it did not change the performance, I had to start both races from the back of the grid. I tried to make as many positions as I could in both races and so as a team we also have enough data to go into the next round. It was also good to get some points in the feature race. Looking forward to racing in Saudi next week.”
Formula 2 returns next week alongside F1 in Saudi. The races can be watched live on F1 TV and in India on Fancode.
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Kush Maini take pole in the first round F2 at Sakhir
Sakhir, 29 February 2024: Kush Maini scored his maiden pole position in FIA Formula 2 as he beat out teammate Gabriel Bortoleto to seal a P1 start for Saturday’s Feature Race.
On his final attempt in Qualifying, Maini completed a lap of 1:41.696 to go to the top of the timesheets. Bortoleto followed his teammate across the line to place second, two-tenths off the pole-winning effort.
Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar completed a lap good enough for third having led the way earlier in the session.
It was Maini who set the early pace for Invicta Racing aided by a strong middle sector, he completed a lap of 1:42.533 to lead Hauger by just 0.045s.
With 10 minutes gone, the drivers returned to the pitlane for some fresher tyres. However, that was when Campos elected to send Hadjar and Josep María Martí out on track for the first time in the session.
Hadjar then went to the top of the timesheets with a lap of 1:42.418, with Martí behind him across the line going to second, 0.021s off the Frenchman’s benchmark effort.
The rest of the field then emerged from the pit lane ahead of their final runs with Maloney going fastest. But the Bajan’s time was quickly eclipsed by the Invicta pair of Maini and Bortoleto, with Hadjar then going to third.
Maloney, and a number of other drivers including ART Grands Prix’s Victor Martins, made their second attempts at the top spot, but with the Pirelli rubber not offering more than one push lap on the abrasive Bahrain tarmac, no driver could eclipse Maini’s time.
With Invicta locking out the front row and Hadjar following in third, Zane Maloney and Dennis Hauger rounded out the top five for Rodin Motorsport and MP Motorsport respectively.
Rookies Ritomo Miyata and Zak O’ Sullivan followed for Rodin and ART Grand Prix, while Enzo Fittipaldi placed eighth for Van Amersfoort Racing.
Victor Martins qualified ninth for ART, with Taylor Barnard set to line up on pole for Friday’s Sprint Race after qualifying 10th for PHM AIX Racing.
Attentions now turns to the 23-lap Sakhir Sprint Race with lights out set to occur at 17:15 local time on Friday, March 1.
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Jak Crawford claims maiden F2 win; Maini 12th, Daruvala DNF
Jak Crawford claimed his first FIA Formula 2 victory in the Spielberg Sprint Race. Starting on the slick tyres in changeable conditions, the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver lost out at the start but looked untroubled once he returned to the front of the field on Lap 6.
Victor Martins made his way through the pack from 10th on the grid to take second, as Clément Novalak turned a P20 start into his first podium of the 2023 season.
Indian driver Kush Maini of Campos Racing finished outside the points in 12th while Jehan Daruvala, the other Indian had a DNF. “The race result is irrelevant today. Absolutely gutted to hear about the tragic passing of Dilano, one of our own at MP. My thoughts are with his family, friends, and everyone at Spa. #RIP,” said Daruvala, as MP Motorsports, his team paid condolences to Dilano.
“MP Motorsport is deeply saddened to confirm that our driver, Dilano van ’t Hoff has passed away as a result of a crash during the second race of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine at Spa Francorchamps.”
“Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine sadly announces the death of MP Motorsport driver Dilano Van ‘t Hoff,” a statement from the championship read.
AS IT HAPPENED
Light rain ahead of the race meant half the field opted to start on the wet tyres. Utilising the dry soft tyres, reverse polesitter Crawford held the lead through the opening corners but it was Arthur Leclerc who made the most of his choice to start on wets. The DAMS driver went from third to the lead of the race by Turn 4 after the Hitech Pulse-Eight ran wide.
Jehan Daruvala spinning off into the gravel at Turn 7 brought out an early Safety Car at the start of Lap 2. This gave the wet tyre runners a chance to switch to slicks, with Théo Pourchaire, Frederik Vesti and Dennis Hauger all stopping, having run inside the top five.
Out front, Leclerc opted to stay out held the lead at the restart on Lap 4. Second-place Richard Verschoor dropped a wheel over the sausage kerb and spun off at the exit of Turn 1, necessitating another Safety Car. Leclerc chose to pit, handing the lead back to Crawford ahead of Juan Manuel Correa.
Back to racing on Lap 8, Kush Maini, Zane Maloney and Enzo Fittipaldi went three-wide up the hill into Turn 3. Diving to the inside, Maloney was through on both, but soon dropped down the order as the track dried and softs became the tyre of choice.
Their battle allowed Martins through into third and he quickly closed on Correa. Late on the brakes, the ART Grand Prix driver went up the inside of Turn 3 to pass the #23 Van Amersfoort Racing car.
Another beneficiary of the soft tyres, Novalak had already made up 16 places after dispatching Isack Hadjar for fourth and soon caught Correa. On Lap 18, the Trident driver was through on the inside to take third, allowing Hadjar the room to follow his compatriot through to take fourth.
A spin for Fittipaldi between Turns 3 and 4 after catching the grass led to the Virtual Safety Car being deployed for two laps.
Having fought his way back up into the points, Oliver Bearman couldn’t hold onto a scoring finish. After overtaking Hauger earlier in the race, the MP Motorsport driver repaid the favour to take eighth. With the benefit of the switchback, the Norwegian was then able to get the run on Jack Doohan to take seventh on the final lap.
