Jehan Daruvala Makes History In Formula 3 European Championship

Good news! Jehan Daruvala, a protege of the Sahara Force India Academy, has had a good outing in the second round of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. The rookie driver attained pole position and finished P2 in Race 4 of the championship held at the famous Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy.

For a race car driver, the FIA Formula 3 European Championship is seen as a stepping stone to participating in Formula 1. 

Driving for team Carlin, the Indian had a great start to the weekend when he qualified first for Race 4, finishing 0.03 seconds ahead of British teammate Lando Norris. In the race, Jehan held on to the lead from the start opening up a lead of over 2 seconds at one point. But, by lap 15, Norris had caught up with him after battling for the second position with Jake Dennis (British/Carlin), Joel Eriksson (Swedish/Motopark) and Ferdinand Habsburg (Austrian/Carlin). 

Norris was able to overtake Jehan on lap 16 using a slipstream advantage on the circuit’s long main straight. Jehan couldn't fight back and finished a close second behind Norris - with a gap of 0.65 seconds. Even though he couldn't win pole position, Jehan still made history.

Jehan did not have the same level of success in Race 5 and 6 though. While his qualifying time of 1:44.102 was only 0.382 seconds off that of pole-sitter Joel Eriksson, he only managed to qualify for P10 on the grid! The competition was that close. Joel Eriksson went on to win the race, while Jehan managed to go up the order and finish in the eighth position.

Jehan qualified in P8 for Race 6 and was determined to finish higher up the order in the race. While he held on to position initially, Jehan was forced wide into a gravel trap soon after - which dropped him to the rear end of the race in 16th position. Jehan started picking off drivers in front of him to 13th, behind German Keyvan Andres (Motopark). A tough overtaking manoeuvre resulted in contact between the two, with Andres' car getting launched in the air momentarily which eventually led to the German retiring from the race soon after. Jehan recovered from this setback to finish in ninth place while setting the second fastest lap in the race in the process. Callum Ilott won the race.

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After Round 2 Jehan Daruvala is 7th in the overall Driver's Championship, moving up one place - 24 races remain. In the Rookie Championship, he is currently third. Round 3 (Race 7,8 and 9) of the 2017 FIA Formula 3 European Championship will be held in Pau, France on May 20 and 21, 2017.