Jehan Begins 2021 F2 Season Clinching Second Position

India’s racing star and the pride of our community, Jehan Daruvala began his 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship campaign on a stellar note, clinching second place in race 1, during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend, at the Bahrain International Circuit, over the weekend. He showed his mettle in the second race too, climbing from eleventh to fourth, after a brilliant run, to miss a second straight podium by the proverbial whisker. In the final race, he started in sixth and despite moving down and up the order, settled for the same sixth spot. This puts him in third place in the Points Standings, after Round 1 of 8.

“I kept out of trouble at the start of Race 1, and then made sensible moves up the order. Both, Lawson and I, had similar pace towards the end, but it was difficult to pass. It’s good to start the season with a podium,” said Jehan, the Red Bull Racing Junior driver, on his victory, adding, “I enjoyed Race 2 too, with the amount of overtaking in the last few laps. Unfortunately, I flat spotted my set of soft tyres, causing severe vibrations that seriously compromised race 3 for me. A big thanks to Carlin for the excellent car which helped me finish in the points in all the races.”

Earlier, Jehan qualified sixth out of 22 racers on the grid but started on P5, owing to the reverse grid rule for the opening race. He began overtaking the car ahead to move into fourth position. Driving intelligently, he stayed just behind the pack. Halfway through the race, he began mounting pressure on German racer David Beckmann, for third position which he gained by pushing him into a corner and overtaking around the outside. Next he overtook French racer, Theo Pouchaire, by quickly closed the gap and just as he was about to make a move, the Frenchman’s car suffered a technical issue, allowing Jehan to move up to second. Race leader, Liam Lawson of New Zealand, was now 2.7 seconds ahead of Jehan who reeled off a series of good laps to close the gap but was unable to, ultimately crossing the finish line, less than a second behind the winner – Lawson. Beckmann in third, finished over 13 seconds behind Jehan.

The top ten finishers of the first race were reversed for the start of Race 2. Thus, Jehan started ninth for the second sprint race, and drove another fantastic race to moving up steadily each lap, to eventually finish a fantastic fourth.

For the first time since its inception, the F2 Championship is being aired LIVE on TV. Eurosport is airing all the races, thanks to Jehan’s increasing popularity! F2 will resume action to support the famed Monaco Grand Prix on 20th May.


(Pics Courtesy: James Gasperotti)

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