Jehan Daruvala To Continue With Carlin for 2018 Formula 3
Indian teenage racing sensation – Jehan Daruvala, of the Sahara Force India Academy will continue in F3 for a second season. Renowned motorsport outfit – Carlin, have once again signed the Indian youngster for the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.
Early in 2017, Jehan became the first Indian ever to win a Grand Prix, after he dominated the New Zealand Grand Prix to take the chequered flag style, at the Circuit Chris Amon in Manfeild.
Jehan then made his debut in April, in the ultra-competitive FIA Formula 3 European Championship, with Carlin. He once again created history, when he became the first Indian ever, to win a race in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. Prior to this, Jehan also became the first Indian to qualify on pole and earn podiums, in the championship, and finished the season sixth overall. Jehan also emerged as the only racer to complete all thirty races (twenty-five of these in the points). The Indian National Anthem rung out a further seven times this year, thanks to Jehan’s victories, out of an astounding 26 total podiums in the rookie classification. Importantly Jehan has the highest rookie podium percentage of any racer in the history of the Rookie Classification of the FIA F3 European Championship.
One of India’s brightest prospects to race in Formula 1 in the coming years, Jehan has made commendable progress up the racing ladder. He first proved his mettle in karting as an eleven-year-old when he won the 2010 National Karting Championship (Micro Max Category). The title of 2011 Malaysian Junior Yamaha Champion was next. 2012 saw Jehan earn India its biggest title in Karting till date when he won the FIA CIK Asia Pacific KF3 Karting Championship. The following year he became the first and only Indian to win a Karting Title in Europe when he was crowned the 2013 British KF3 Champion. Jehan till date remains the only Indian to stand on the podium of an official FIA World Championship when he finished 2nd runner-up of the FIA CIK World Karting Championship in 2014. He also finished as runner-up in the German Karting Championship the same year.
Jehan made the switch to Formula Cars the following year, with a successful debut in the Formula Renault 2.0 car. The Mumbai based teenager rounded off the season with four podiums in addition to five ‘Best Rookie’ trophies. Jehan kicked off his 2016 campaign on a high with six podiums including three victories to finish runner-up in the Toyota Racing Series, New Zealand. He continued with Formula Renault 2.0 in Europe competing in both the NEC and Euro series to round off the year with another six podiums.
F3 has been used as a stepping stone by most F1 racers including Lewis Hamilton, Sebastien Vettel, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and many more. Most racers participating in their second or third season of F3 adds to the competitiveness of the series and also makes it much tougher for a rookie. Besides Jehan’s commendable performance in the FIA F3 European Championship, Jehan also made a good debut at the F3 World Cup, part of the Macau Grand Prix. Jehan overcame crashes in the early sessions to finish the Grand Prix in the tenth, in spite of having to pit, to replace a punctured tire.
Jehan was signed on by Carlin for this year’s F3 season. Carlin is arguably, motorsport’s most renowned racing team outside F1. They have propelled numerous F1 racer’s careers, like F1 World Champions – Nico Rosberg and Sebastien Vettel, and also the first Indian in F1 – Narain Karthikeyan, during their crucial formative years.
Racing director Trevor Carlin added, “It’s great news that Jehan remains for us in FIA Formula Three next season – he’s been a fantastic addition to the team this year and his results as a rookie have been impressive. He’s already a race winner in the series and no doubt has the ability to add more wins and pole positions to his achievements over the course of 2018.”
It has been a fantastic year racing with Carlin. Everyone in the team is very committed to achieving the best possible results. I am happy to be working with them once again and look forward to a successful year.” said Jehan.
The 2018 season kicks off in May at the street circuit of Pau, in France. The thirty race FIA Formula 3 European Championship, will be spread across ten rounds, in eight different countries across Europe. More than half the rounds will be at Formula 1 circuits making this official FIA series, an ideal stepping stone to Formula 1.