Jehan Daruvala and Kush Maini have bittersweet weekends

The Formula 2 season began at the Bahrain International Circuit with Jehan Daruvala bagging an encouraging second place in the first sprint race of the season. Driving for the new team Prema, he qualified seventh for the main feature race on Sunday and started fourth in the sprint race due to reverse qualifying rules. With a good start, Jehan managed to leapfrog the two cars ahead of him but had to battle till the end to secure his place on the podium. With a flurry of overtaking, it was a day to remember for Daruvala as he showed that he has the pace to fight at the front. Sunday however was a race to forget, as Jehan had a rough start, dropping from seventh place to fifteenth place. After a strong race, he recovered to a good position before a collision with Roy Nissany damaged his front wing and destroyed any chances of securing a points finish. Jehan heads into the next weekend in Saudi Arabia ninth in the standings with eight points to his name. This year will be the make or break season for Daruvala in F2 as he aims to secure the championship with the strongest team and get a place on the 2023 Formula 1 grid.

Kush Maini began his maiden Formula 3 campaign driving for the MP Motorsport team in an encouraging fashion, qualifying third in his first qualifying session in the series. However, penalties due to missing the weighbridge forced him to start both races from the pitlane. This was where Maini shined, with a battling drive in the first sprint race allowing him to make up 15 positions, almost securing driver of the day. In the feature race, he put on a show again, overtaking 13 cars on his way to P17. It was an encouraging showing after a year on the sidelines, as Kush was routinely one of the fastest cars throughout the weekend, a promising sign for what he hopes will be a title challenge in the longest calendar year the series has yet seen.