Jehan Daruvala focusing on positives ahead of Jeddah race after mixed fortunes in Bahrain
Indian racer Jehan Daruvala had plenty of takeaways from the opening round of the Formula 2 Championship in Bahrain.
In a tale of fortunes fluctuating to extremes, Daruvala finished second in the first race in what was an excellent start. However, a freak collision ended his hopes of finishing the race weekend on a high as he crashed out of the second race soon after the start.
The 23-year-old racer from Mumbai, who races for Prema Racing and is a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, began the season on a high in the Sprint race on Saturday. He fought his way up the order with some decisive overtaking moves.
Jehan Daruvala showed strong pace throughout the 23-lap race and crossed the line just 1.8 seconds behind winner Richard Verschoor.
He only just missed out on a season-opening win after losing time at the virtual safety car restart.
"A lot of positives to take. We finished the first race of the year in second place, so it is definitely a good start," he said.
Jehan Daruvala falters in second race
Daruvala’s front-running form in Saturday’s Sprint race boosted hopes of another strong haul of points in Sunday’s Feature race, in which he started seventh.
However, just as he was preparing to unleash his pace on the quicker option tyre, an aggressive defensive move by Roy Nissany damaged Daruvala’s front wing. This effectively ended his hopes of a strong result.
Speaking about the incident, he said:
"A bad start put us on the back foot, but to be honest, the race was still alive when we put the options on. Then my front wing got damaged. I was getting by Nissany and he just swerved into me, knocking my wing off."
Daruvala added:
"After that, the race was pretty much finished. But that’s motor-racing.These things happen sometimes but I’m confident we’ll come back stronger in Saudi Arabia."
Read: Arjun Maini joins HRT for Asian Le Mans Series
The Formula 2 caravan next heads to Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah street circuit, a track Jehan Daruvala has fond memories of. Last season, he pulled off one of the overtaking moves of the year last when he passed two cars in one go, including reigning champion Oscar Piastri.
Also Read: Alisha Abdullah: Breaking stereotypes on the racetrack