Sahara Force India Academy driver Jehan Daruvala had an encouraging single-seater début at Monza, the historic Italian racing circuit, finishing fourth from a field of 30.
Making his bow in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup (NEC), in which he will compete a full season as part of his 2015 programme, Jehan was only one of four drivers making their Formula car début amongst a highly competitive and experienced grid of 30 drivers.
Although a red flag brought about a premature end to qualifying for Race One, which resulted in the young Mumbai racer being caught out and having to settle for tenth on the grid for Race One, Jehan was able to drive well to qualify fifth on the grid for Race Two.
Race One was a straightforward affair for the Sahara Force India Academy Driver as he started well and moved up two places to finish eight, with Japanese driver Ukyo Sasahara winning the race. Much more excitement was in store for Race Two: Jehan made a relatively slow start from fifth and was then squeezed wide entering the chicane.
Taking a careful approach to the first lap, Jehan lost out and dropped to eight, eventually settling in seventh with rival Alex Gill on his tail. The duo fought hard and exchanged places over the next couple of laps, Jehan using all the experience from his karting days to produce an impressive display of defensive driving.
With three laps left, Jehan managed to shake Gill off and quickly closed the gap with the cars ahead to join four other drivers in the battle for third place. With two laps left, the racing got more intense, two of the drivers in front of Jehan making contact. Kevin Jorg spun and Jehan skillfully avoided contact to gain sixth position. He immediately passed another car and then made a brilliant move on Dennis Olsen into the Ascari chicane to move into fourth, a position he managed to hold all the way to the finish. Swiss driver Louis Deletraz won the race by a 2.9 second margin.
Jehan was awarded ‘top rookie driver’ in the event, receiving a trophy on the Monza podium, and now stands fourth overall in the championship standings with 30 points.
“It was my first race weekend in a single seater and I qualified and finished in the top ten in both races. I struggled a bit with the car on Friday but the team did a great job. I want to thank the Fortec team and Sahara Force India.” said 16-year-old Jehan after the race.
The result wrapped up a very promising weekend for the Sahara Force India Academy driver, whose 2014 highlights included finishing third in the World Karting Championship. The ultra-competitive Formula Renault NEC Championship has launched the careers of some of the current F1 stars like Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat. The remaining six rounds of the championship will give Jehan the opportunity to race on another five F1 circuits, with the next race being held at Silverstone on May 23rd.
