INDIA'S NEW PRODIGY
20-year-old Mumbai kid, Jehan Daruvala, has gone to become the first and only Indian to ever win multiple F3 races, globally
Born in the Dadar Parsi Colony, in Mumbai, Jehan Daruvala scripted history as he became the first ever Indian to go atop the FIA F3 Championship leaderboard momentarily after clinching the second position in an action packed feature race at the famous Silverstone Circuit.
He moved to London when he was 13 and completed his secondary education. During his stint in London, he transformed his passion for speed by opting for go-karting, just like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso did. He quickly mastered the sport, winning several karting titles. He was then chosen as one of the three winners of the Sahara Force India Formula One Team Academy's 'One From A Billion' Hunt'.
In December 2018, he hit a career milestone by signing with one of the most successful racing teams in F3, the Italy-based Prema Racing. This gave him the opportunity to drive much more powerful cars than what he was used to (a bigger 3.4-liter engine, compared to the 2-liter engine from his last season). After hitting a few technical hitches, he won the inaugural round of the 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship in Barcelona, making India proud.
Jehan Daruvala created history during the Spanish F3 Grand Prix, scoring a dramatic victory in the inaugural round of the all-new FIA Formula 3 Championship. The Indian national anthem was played probably for the first time at a Grand Prix in front of a full crowd.
Daruvala continued his amazing streak of podiums, with a second place finish in Round 3 of the FIA Formula 3 Championship in Austria. Once again, he proved his mettle in the sprint event of the championship, a support race for the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix at the 4.318km long Redbull Ring Circuit.
At Silverstone, Jehan's clinched his fifth podium in seven races and points for fastest lap propelled the Indian star to the top of the championship standings, after the feature race. Unfortunately, the championship lead did not last long, as things fell apart on the last lap of sprint race for Jehan. With 8 races to go this season, the Indian sensation has accumulated 102 points – only behind Russian Robert Shwartzman by 12 points. Given the form he is in now, a F1 berth isn't far away. With Narain Karthikeyan's memories fading away, this kid has raised the bars of motorsports in India and is on the verge of a major break at the elite level.
In the team standings, Prema Racing comfortably sits at the top with 293 points.
Jehan began his career in karting at the age of 10. Since then he has won the Indian National Karting Championship, the Malaysian Junior Yamaha Karting Championship, the FIA CIK Asia Pacific KF3 Championship and the British Superone National Karting Championship.
His next race will be at the Hungaroring circuit during the Hungarian GP on August 3-4.
