Jehan Daruvala registers maiden win

Sahara Force India Academy racer Jehan Daruvala clinched his maiden victory in Race 2 in Round Three of the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC Series and jumped to the top spot in the table in Budapest, Hungary.

Jehan’s fastest laps in qualifying were discounted for exceeding track limits and he had to start Race 1 eighth on the grid at the Hungaroring F1 circuit.

The 17-year-old encountered more than one issue in the race as the car in front of him stalled and Jehan lost a few positions while taking evasive action. The worst was yet to come as in the last lap when the front wing of a fellow racer clipped Jehan’s rear wheel causing a spin.

He finished 13th with no time left to close the gap, while Lando Norris of Great Britain won the race ahead of Russian racer Vasily Romanov and Ferdinand Habsburg of Austria.

Jehan started from second on the grid in Race 2. The teenager got away well and was soon right on the tail of polesitter Norris.

The duo started pulling away from the rest of the field and soon, the race went in favour of Jehan when Lando went off track, into the barriers on lap 4.

A brief safety car period ensued and Jehan made a good start after the safety car pulled in. He was able to stay ahead of the pack and slowly started building up a lead once again. He also locked the fastest lap of the race.

Jehan ensured he made no mistakes and went on to earn his maiden Formula Renault victory by a 1.4 seconds, ahead of Russian Robert Shwartzman.

“After having everything seem to go against me in Race 1, I am really happy with the way Race 2 turned out. It was crucial for me to protect the lead at the restart and after that I was able to consistently lap quicker than everyone behind me,” Jehan said.

Jehan’s victory ensured he now leads the championship points tally by five points. The young Indian will now race in Monza on July 2 and 3 as part of the Formula Renault EuroCup Series.