Manama: India’s Jehan Daruvala created history on Sunday as he became the first driver from the country to win a Formula 2 race when he finished on the top step of the podium at Sakhir sprint race in Bahrain. Daruvala, who races for Carlin, edged past the likes of Mick Schumacher, Yuki Tsunoda and Dan Ticktum.
Daruvala won the sprint race in Sakhir by 2.9s as he and his Carlin teammate Tsunoda finished 1-2. Ticktum was overtaken by Tsunoda late in the race as he finished 3rd on Sunday’s spectacular race.
Mick, son of legendary Michael Schumacher, will join Haas at Formula 1 as the reigning Formula 2 champion next season as he sealed the F2 title despite missing the podium on Sunday.
Jehan Daruvala finished at the 12th spot of the F2 Drivers Standings but the 22-year-old looks to mount a title challenge in the next season.
“I always believed in myself, it was just a couple of reasons why things did really go well at the start of the season. They got better and better, and yeah, to finish on a high like I said means quite a lot to me,” Daruvala told the press after his maiden F2 race win.
“I hope I will be back here next year in the FIA F2 Championship. Hopefully, this win gives me some confidence to be a contender for the title next year. I have a big fan base back home.”
Jehan Daruvala and Daniel Ticktum had an interesting duel from the word go as the Indian driver got off to a strong start from second on the grid. With just less than 10 laps to go, Jehan came up with a brilliant move to get past Ticktum.
While Jehan maintained the lead to get past the chequered flag for the first time in an F2 race, his teammate, Tsunoda overtook Ticktum at the end to finish 1-2 for Carlin.
“Motorsport is pretty big in India. We obviously have a lot of people, so I have a big fan base back home, and my goal at the end of the day is to do myself and my country proud,” Jehan said, as quoted by the PTI.
“Have to prove to people from back home that even though we don’t have the same facilities and stuff that guys have in Europe, as long as you can work hard you can fight right at the sharp end of the grid.”
