Double Podium for Jehan in Formula Renault 2.0 NEC Series

Round 5 of the Formula Renault 2.0 North European Cup Series was held this weekend in Assen, Netherlands. Jehan Daruwala from Sahara Force India Academy has scored a double podium win, claiming third place in both races of Round 5. He had lost has championship lead in Round 4 in Belgium, where he was hit by another racer. With his double podium finish, Jehan has now managed to climb the championship standings to fourth position.

Prior to the race weekend, during the first practice session, Jehan was the fastest out of the 25 racers on the grid. However, he was the third fastest during the second practice session, behind Belgian Max Defourny and Lando Norris from Great Britain.

During Race 1 qualifying, Jehan’s final timings were a mere two-hundredths of a second behind Lando Norris, who achieved pole position. Max Deformed was behind Jehan with a small gap of another nine thousandths of a second. The second qualifying session, for Race 2, had Lando and Jehan again acquiring the first row, followed by Dorian Boccolacci settling for the third spot on the grid.

As the lights went out for Race 1 Jehan faced a bit of wheelspin, causing him to lose his position to third. He tried to reclaim his position at turn three of the circuit but could not stick his move, causing Defourny to pass Jehan. Later, Henrique Chaves lunged down upon Jehan from the inside, resulting in the two racers making contact with each other. Luckily, Jehan managed to maintain his position for the next seven laps as he closed the gap ahead. He then made a good move on Defourny, claiming back his third position, which he held till the chequered flag. First place was won by Lando Norris, followed by Boccolacci in second.

Jehan was off to a good start in Race 2, maintaining his second position behind Lando. During the course of the race, he apparently lost slightly over half a second a lap which allowed Max Defourny to make a pass on him. The racer from Great Britain, after a few laps, even managed to pass Lando, who also had an abrupt drop in pace. As Jehan dropped to the third position, he had Boccolacci and Fenestraz on his back wanting to overtake. Jehan had to maintain a defensive technique with which he managed to keep the two French racers in his rear view mirror until the end of the race. 

Commenting on the second consecutive podium win, Jehan Daruwalla, Sahara Force India Academy, said: “I am happy with my pace in qualifying. We need to work a bit on our race pace. Over the last few weekends, we have been struggling with the tyres going off during the race, but I am confident we will find a solution for this.”