Indian racing contingent, Jehan Daruvala has become the first Indian to win the FIA Formula 3 European Championship at Norisring in the final race of Round 5. The Sahara Force India Academy driver's historic win comes 18 years after Naren Karthikeeyan won in the British F3 championship. Daruvala made for an impressive run to victory facing constant pressure from series leader Maximilian Gunther of Prema Powerteam.
Formula 3 Round 5 Norisring Winners
Starting second on the grid, Carlin Motorsport's Jehan Daruvala got an impressive start, passing leader Gunther almost immediately in the at Turn 1 on the opening lap. The 18-year-old ensured to maintain his lead throughout the race, even though Gunther came close on a number of instances. Lap 6 saw a collision between Mick Schumacher and Pedro Piquet, which called out for the yellow flag. The incident further cemented Daruvala's lead who was had an advantage of 1 second of Gunther when the lights were green again.
Jehan Daruvala crossed the chequered with a lead of just 0.4 seconds
The 2.3 km Norisring circuit turned out to be quite the challenge for drivers while being just the right track for the Indian rookie to showcase his talents. The street circuit with its concrete walls would make sure that mistakes were paid for. The yellow flag was called out for the second time when Tadasuke Makino ran into Harrison Newey at Turn 1.
The 40 lap race gave Gunther several instances to close in on the Indian driver and the experienced series leader even brought down the gap down to half a second by Lap 24. However, Jehan remained unnerved right till the end, taking the chequered flag with a lead of 0.4 seconds. Daruvala's win also cements his position as a rookie driver, as he sits second in the rookie standings. The first two races of the weekend also saw the Indian driver finish sixth and fourth respectively, helping him rise up to fifth in the championship standings.
Speaking on his maiden win, an ecstatic Jehan Daruvala said, "It feels brilliant to get my first F3 win. I have been quick all weekend & it finally came together this race. I knew the start was crucial, so I focused a lot on that. Once I had Max at the start, I just had to ensure that I made no mistakes. The pressure was immense through the race, but I was enjoying myself."BOOM! WON RACE 3 AT NORISRING #FIAF3 . WINNING MOMENT
Jehan currently is in second place in the F3 rookie standings
