Jehan Daruvala is currently at the front foot of changing India’s presence in motorsport worldwide. Red Bull Racing Formula One Team has signed Jehan Daruvala to their Red Bull Junior Programme in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. He will race for UK based racing team Carlin’s FIA F2 team alongside Red Bull Junior Yuki Tsunoda in his first F2 season.

This is Jehan’s third season with Carlin Motorsports. According to its owner, Mr Trevor Carlin, he has been invited back after his extremely impressive performance at the FIA F3 last year. He believes that with the new 18-inch wheels and his equally competent team, he will make it to the top.

Having produced four-time World F1 Champion - Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Alex Albon, and many others over the years, Red Bull Junior program is a space for young drivers to gain experience. All the previous racers have come from the Red Bull Junior Program, and so, it is being prognosticated that this opportunity could come as a huge recognition for Jehan and could also possibly serve as his entry into the Red Bull Racing F1 and AlphaTauri F1.

At just 21 years old, Jehan has taken the chequered flag ( black and white flag portraying that a car has won the race ) many times now. As a big fan of speed, he started Karting in 2009, and when he was barely 11 years old, Jehan went on to win championships across Asia and Europe which resulted in his selection as a member of the Sahara Force India Junior Program in 2011. His go-karting experience has given him a lot of advantages at the world level.

His accolades include :

• First Indian to win an FIA title in motorsport in 2012 CIK FIA Asia Pacific KF3 Championship and also to win a title in Europe when he was crowned the British Super One KF3 Champion.
• In 2014, he became the first and only Indian till date to step on the podium of an official FIA World Championship after finishing third in the CIK FIA World Karting Championship.
• Joined Formula Racing in 2015 and went on to earn multiple podiums in his maiden season.
• In 2016, he was the runner-up at the Toyota Racing Series. He earned his first pole position and won in the Northern European Cup, finishing fourth overall.
• First Indian to win an official Grand Prix in the 2017 New Zealand Grand Prix.
• Earned eight podiums other than finishing 2nd in the Rookie Championship with 26 rookie podiums in 2017.
• He moved to the FIA F2 European Championship in 2017 and 2018.

Besides this, he is also the only Indian to win an FIA Asian Championship and is the sole winner of CIK FIA Asia Pacific KF3 Championship.

The 2020 FIA F2 season will be held at the Bahrain International Circuit from March 20 to March 22 and will be battled over 12 two-race rounds including four flyaway events. The season will continue till the finishing event at Abu Dhabi on November 27-29.

Feature image credits - Scroll.in

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