Hyderabad: Jehan Daruvala scripted history in early December 2020 by becoming the first Indian to win an F2 race. He achieved the feat at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain in the sprint race. After ending 2020 on high, Daruvala is looking forward to the next season with new hopes and ambition to represent India at the Formula One race in 2022.
In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, Daruvala gets candid about his idol, his most difficult race, how his racing journey started and his plans for the future.
Excerpts:
Q. Winning an F2 race was huge. How are your parents and friends reacted to your victory?
A: Obviously, my parents and friends are very proud of my victory. And personally, nothing has changed as I set hard targets for myself. I want to win races, I want to be there on the podium. So, for me winning F2 was about the beliefs that I can do it. Representing India and hearing national anthem gave me a lot of pride for myself and to those who were supporting me.
Q. Winning that race with Mick Schumacher chasing you throughout the race, how confident were you of keeping him behind you?
A: He (Mick) was not behind me in the race I won. It was the one where I came third, a week before, where I was defending from him. In that race, he had fresher tire compare to mine and I knew it was going to be difficult in the end. But I made it as hard as possible for him. I defended super hard and he struggled to get past me. In the end, my defence paid off and I was very happy.
Q. You are 22 and you must have started quite early. How it all started, take us through your journey...
A: I started when I was ten years old in Mumbai. I was driving for a car racing company owned by Raymond Banerjee as part of his team in the National championships. I did racing in a couple of year in India, a couple of years in Asia. However, my career kicked off after that '1 from a Billion Hunt,' which was held by Sahara Force India at that time. I finished in the top three in that race and after that, I went to Europe.
Q. As coronavirus put a halt on F2 and other sporting activities, do you think more races would have done you better in terms of performance?
A: Despite the COVID-19 lockdown, I got through the whole season... as of now, there is not too much trouble in terms of driving itself. Obviously, we had to be in the bubble the whole year and kind of isolate ourselves most of the season... so that part was difficult. It was also hard not to have my family with me during the races.
Q. You have done incredibly well in In F3, and now F2 happened. Now eyes on F1 in 2021...
A: Yes, obviously, I'm going to be in F2 again this year and hopefully, by next year I would be driving in Formula One.
Q. Red Bull is shuffling around with their second seat a lot, Alpha Tauri too shuffles their drivers around. You think with a year of experience behind you and converting that into a big season in F2, might get you that F1 call?
Yeah, I think that is very much possible, all I have to do is deliver on track, perform at my highest level. I am sure if I do my best, I might get to fight for the podium and then have a shot at Formula One seat.
Q. Since you are with Carlin at the moment, what are your upcoming plans?
A: Nothing is formally announced yet by the team but hopefully, I will be with them. But my focus is on working on my mistakes, that I made last year and keep on improving.
Q. You are the first Indian to win MSA super British Karting, first to reach the podium in CIK-FIA world championship, won Grand Prix in New Zealand, F3 and F2 championships...which of these would you rate as your toughest and most favourite?
A: I think, my last win (F2 championships) would be my favourite. It was not easy at all, I fell under third after the start. And it was a tough battle all through the race fighting for the lead with Daniel Ticktum. It was a hard-fought race and I had to work really hard for the podium finish but in the end, the satisfaction was a lot.
Q. What do you think of 24 hour Le Mans or Dakkar rally? Do you see yourself participating in them in the future?
A: Right now they are not part of my plans. I am focussing on Formula One. Maybe in future, I might think about 24 hour Le Mans.
Q. How do you prepare for a competition? Does virtual gaming help you in any way? And how did you prepare during COVID-induced lockdown?
A: Even though we were in the lockdown, we all have to go to work... so I could visit the Carlin and the Red Bull factory. We go through all our data and plans for the weekend at the Carlin and do some stimulater there. We also do some stimulater at the Red Bull too to prepare for the upcoming races. It was a bit harder this year due to the pandemic, but we still got to do everything possible to prepare ourselves.
Q. Is there any driver you take inspiration from?
A: Fernando Alonso has always been my driving inspiration since I was young. I really love the way he drives... and always got the best of any car.
Q What's your ultimate dream?
My ultimate dream is to represent India at Formula One.
--- By Rajsi Swaroop
