Formula 2: Jehan Daruvala secures third podium in Imola
23-year-old Red Bull Junior and Prema Racing driver Jehan Daruvala secured a second-place finish in the Sprint Race in Imola, Round Three of the 2022 FIA Formula 2 championship. He is currently the only driver on the F2 grid to have secured a podium finish in all three rounds so far.
By Divyank K. Bansal
Currently, India's Jehan Daruvala is the only driver on the 2022 F2 grid to secure a podium in all three championship rounds so far.
23-year-old Red Bull Junior and Prema Racing driver Jehan Daruvala secured a second-place finish in the Sprint Race in Imola, Round Three of the 2022 FIA Formula 2 (F2) championship. With this result, Daruvala is currently the only driver on the F2 grid to have secured a podium finish in all three rounds so far. For those not aware of F2's race format, each race weekend consists of a Sprint Race on Saturday, followed by a Feature Race on Sunday, before the F1 race. Before Imola, Daruvala secured a third-place finish in the Round Two Feature Race (Jeddah), and in the Sakhir season-opener, he was once again second in the Sprint Race. Daruvala's Imola result is the most impressive so far, as he also managed to secure three points with his ninth-place finish in the Feature Race (one additional point for setting the fastest lap).
With 10 Formula 2 podium finishes under his belt (overall career), Daruvala now stands third overall in the 2022 drivers' championship, with 36 points. Ahead of him, the top two spots have been occupied by MP Motorsport's Felipe Drugovich (50 points) and ART Grand Prix's Theo Pourchaire (52 points).
Sharing his thoughts about the Imola Sprint Race, Jehan said, 'Firstly, I got off the line better than the guys at the front because I had to avoid Logan. I lost some momentum and couldn’t get Marcus. But after that, the race wasn’t easy. I was trying to put him under a lot of pressure early on in the race, but it was really hard to follow, especially in the middle sector. I had DRS, but I was never quite close enough to mount an attack. I tried to cool down and give it a go at the end, but again when I got closer, I really struggled to follow. All in all, we had great pace but couldn’t really use it much.'
Round Four of the 2022 Formula 2 championship will be held at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from 20th – 22nd May, alongside the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix.
Picture Credits – Prema Racing
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