Winning his second Formula 2 (F2) race this season, Jehan Daruvala’s ranking rose to seventh position among 29 F2 drivers, as per the official website fiaformula2.com. Participating in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit on the second weekend of December 2021, Daruvala was part of the Red Bull Racing Junior Team.
At this main support race for the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Daruvala "started on pole (first), withstood immense pressure and eventually scripted his second victory and fifth podium in Formula 2 this year,” noted a press release. As commented Daruvala, "After struggling in the early part of the weekend, it is fantastic to win here. I was under a lot of pressure in the first few laps as well as later on. But I remained confident and really enjoyed the racing. It’s a good result for the team so thank you to everyone who has worked hard to make this happen.”
Top and above: Jehan Daruvala at the Yas Marina
Circuit in Abu Dhabi Photos: James Gasperotti
Giving a detailed account of the race, the release stated, "Twice on the first lap, the Brazilian Felipe Drugovich managed to pull alongside Daruvala but the Indian held him at bay with some clever positioning of his car.” Midway too Drugovich "lunged down the inside of Daruvala and almost shot ahead too but Daruvala stayed by his side till the corner where he emerged ahead once again… Towards the end of the race, Daruvala opened up a small gap to Drugovich and kept increasing it” ultimately winning the race by a two-second margin.
Daruvala’s tactics, it appeared to onlookers, had made him push his car and tyres too hard too early in the race to break the DRS (drag reduction system) opportunity for the drivers behind. But that was not the case for Daruvala managed to preserve the tyre life until the end. During the prior weekend in Jeddah, on the fastest street circuit on the F1 calendar, due to penalties in races, Daruvala had missed out on a podium.
Since the top 10 drivers in a race line up in the reverse order for the next one, first placed Daruvala commented, "Starting 10th in the next race is going to be tough, but I will do my best.”