Young Indian racers edge closer to F1

On different paths, but aiming for the same goal. Jehan Daruvala and Arjun Maini are two steps away from Formula 1 as they start their Formula 3 and GP3 campaigns this year.

As a driver rises higher up in the motorsport ladder of junior formula racing, there are fewer places left to hide, so to speak. And that is mainly down to the fact that despite there being a plethora of single seat series, only three of them ultimately count towards where a young driver’s career will go.

Those are the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, GP3 Series and the FIA Formula 2 Championship (which used to be the GP2 Series until last season). Owing to how much success in these series count towards the points required to obtain an FIA super license – required to compete in Formula 1 – the best young drivers in the world will converge to these series, where they are most likely to be noticed by team bosses.

Of course, due to the economic crisis and the F1 sponsor pool getting severely drained of late, how much backing a driver brings with them is also a consideration but one will still see the top three teams in F1 pick drivers on merit.

Such has been the case with Stoffel Vandoorne, whose success in GP2 and Formula Renault 3.5 had convinced McLaren to groom him for a full-time seat in F1. A more prolific example is Max Verstappen whose success in FIA F3 convinced Red Bull that he was ready to step up to F1.

Competing with the latest crop of the latest European wunderkinds in FIA F3 and GP3 this year are India’s Jehan Daruvala and Arjun Maini.

Make or Break
Eighteen-year-old Daruvala went off the boil in his maiden Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup campaign last year, scoring just one podium finish throughout the season where he retired four times from 15 races. After narrowly missing out on becoming the top rookie in the 2015 F-Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, many had expected more from Daruvala as he stepped up to the more competitive Eurocup series.

But he was outshone last year by his Josef Kauffman Racing teammate Lando Norris. Although, to be fair to Daruvala, Norris outshone everyone as he claimed the title in both the Northern European Cup and the Eurocup. So much so that the 17-year-old has been signed as a McLaren junior driver, the same way that Stoffel Vandoorne and Lewis Hamilton before him were.

Daruvala, meanwhile was locked in a close battle for the runner-up spot in the Northern European Cup, where he ultimately finished fourth. He was well adrift in ninth in his first full Eurocup season but his move to Formula 3 with Carlin Racing shows that there is enough confidence on his part to learn from his mistakes and apply those lessons in a higher category.

Partnering Daruvala at Carlin will be Norris again, which would give him a good benchmark to measure himself against.

Nineteen-year-old Arjun Maini, meanwhile, will be looking to build on the encouraging switch from Formula 3 to GP3 last year, which resulted in a podium position in Hungary. More important than the podium, is the fact that GP3 is an official support series for F1. So there would have been enough people watching along with his mentor Karun Chandhok spreading the word about him in the paddock.

Maini will continue racing with Jenzer Motorsport, who signed him up last year. His success has led to a further commitment from primary sponsor JK Tyre while TVS Racing has also agreed to fund his preparation.

How well both drivers do this year will determine their chances of either advancing further up the ladder to Formula 2 or turning their attention to other disciplines of motorsport other than F1.