Indian racing driver Jehan Daruvala recently announced his new association with Formula E team Mahindra Racing as their reserve driver for the ninth edition of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The 24-year-old is probably the most talented Indian driver in the circuit right now and the first and the only one to win a F2 race.
Daruvala has great racing experience in Formula 2 and Formula 3. He featured in the inaugural Formula 3 season for Prema and did reasonably well with seven podiums and two race wins. He then reunited with carlin and featured in the Formula 2 Championships along with teammate Yuki Tsunoda as they were competing for the F1 seat in 2021.
However his Japanese counterpart was very much better than him and hence he ran away with the F1 seat. While Tsunoda came third only behind champion Mick Schumacher and Callum Illot, Jehan Daruvala finished in a disappointing 12th position in the same machinery and hence it was clear which Red Bull Junior driver was getting the AlphaTauri seat.
Daruvala bounced back next year in the F3 Asian Championship as he drove for the Mumbai Falcons and finished third only behind champion Guanyu Zhou and Pierre-Louis Chovet. He continued for Carlin this time and was paired up with Dan Ticktum for the 2021 F2 Championship. But there were hardly any change in result as Ticktum finished fourth in the Driver’s Championship whereas Daruvala finished seventh. It was not a bad result for him but considering they had the same machinery, Ticktum outperformed him majorly.
The Indian driver decided to reunite with Prema again as they were winning the Driver’s Championships and many people thought 2022 was the year when Daruvala will raise a claim to the F2 Championship but unfortunately a lot of things did not go in his favour as he was part of some unfortunate racing incidents and also accidents which hampered his progress in the Driver’s Championship this year. He partnered rookie Dennis Hauger and he did much better than him but unfortunate events saw him dropping down to seventh position as Hauger finished 10th.
Overall Daruvala had shown his talent in glimpses and he was offered a chance to test F1 machinery by McLaren. It was a big part of his experience curve as a driver. In his role at Mahindra Racing will work closely with drivers Lucas Di grassi and Oliver Rowland and will spend time on the Banbury headquarters on simulators and also engineers.
“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,” Daruvala said in a release.
