The only driver to have ranked among the top three in the first three rounds of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Formula 2 (F2) races in 2022 was Jehan Daruvala representing India. With 36 points to his credit, he is third on the list behind Theo Pourchaire of France who has 52 points and Felipe Drugovich of Brazil who has 50 points, according to the standings of 23 drivers shown on the website fiaformula2.com. Twenty-three-year-old Daruvala who races for Prema Racing and is a member of the Red Bull Junior Team is now the top Red Bull junior in the championship.
Top: Jehan Daruvala with his trophy at Imola;
above: leading the Formula 2 race in Bahrain
Daruvala began the season with a second place at the opening sprint race at Sakhir in Bahrain on March 19, completing the 23-lap race 1.8 seconds behind winner Richard Verschoor. The following weekend at the feature race at Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Corniche Circuit, he used "a mix of race craft, strategy and tyre management to claw his way up the order to third” position although a mechanical issue had initially hampered him in qualifying. During the last weekend of April at Imola in Italy, Daruvala finished second place in the sprint race behind Marcus Armstrong, crossing the line just 1.4 seconds later.
His goal for the 2022 season is to claim the title which would boost his chances of becoming only the third Indian on the Formula One (F1) grid. The F2 Championship is a feeder series to F1 and takes place on the same weekends on the same circuits in different countries. The fourth round of the F2 championship was scheduled for Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from May 20 to 22 alongside the F1 Spanish Grand Prix. The final 14th round will end at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on November 18-20.
Taking the setbacks that come on the circuits in his stride, Daruvala philosophically maintained, "You can always dwell on the what-ifs but my focus now is very much on carrying the momentum into the next round.”