Jehan Daruvala grabs podium in third race of the 2018 FIA F3 season opener

The season opener in France

Indian racer Jehan Daruvala, representing team Carlin, secured third place in the third race of the season opener of the 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship in Pau, France. It was a wet race and Jehan made the most of the conditions that were presented in the 2.76km long street circuit.

The not-so-easy two races

Jehan hit a kerb during the race and had to retire from the first race due to suspension failure. The second race gave better results. Jehan started in seventh position and finished in sixth position as another racer crashed out. The third race saw the Indian racer start from fifth position on a wet circuit and during the initial part of the race itself, he got two positions ahead and maintained his third position in the wet conditions. The race was finally stopped 13 minutes before schedule because of the wet conditions and that gave Jehan a podium finish.

Jehan Daruvala on finishing at the podium position

After taking the podium, 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. So, it was good for me that the race was stopped. Because nobody was able to take third place away from me. 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.”

The second round of the 2018 FIA F3 European Championship will be held at the Hungaroring F1 circuit in Hungary in early June.