Jehan Daruvala Bags Maiden Podium In Round 2 Of 2017 FIA F3 Championship

It was a mixed weekend for Indian racing driver Jehan Daruvala in Round 2 of the 2017 FIA Formula 3 Championship at Monza. After becoming the first Indian to secure a pole in the European championship, Jehan went on to take his maiden podium finish in Race 1, adding to his impressive list of achievements. However, Race 2 and Race 3 did not pan out as expected and saw the team Carlin Racing driver finish farther than expected.

Race 1 saw Jehan in the lead followed by Carlin teammates Jake Dennis, Ferdinand Habsburg and Lando Norris. With the best starting position, Jehan maintain his dominance in the initial laps. However, Lando Norris was at his aggressive best and was quick to move up to second after Lap 3. The race then saw a fantastic duel between Daruvala and Norris, which the latter overtaking the Indian driver on Lap 16. With Norris now in the lead, Jehan managed to remain a close second with a gap of just 0.649 seconds behind Norris when the chequered flag was dropped. While Lando Norris secured his second win of the season, Jehan took his maiden podium finish in second place. Carlin's Habsburg finished third, also securing his maiden podium finish in the championship.

Jehan Daruvala after securing his maiden podium finish in the championship

Speaking on securing his first podium in the championship, Jehan said, "I was in the lead for a long time, but I finished second. Therefore, I am having mixed feelings. Initially, things were going really well for me and because the drivers behind me were fighting, I was able to pull a slight gap. Then, however, Lando came to the fore and the slipstream he had made it difficult for me to defend the lead. Currently, there are some good drivers from India and we hope to be able to make our sport more popular in India by scoring good results."

Race 2, however did not pan out as expected for the Mumbai-based racer. Jehan had a difficult qualifying and started in tenth place in Race 2 at Monza. The 18-year-old moved up by three positions amidst a heated battle. Jehan had to settle for eighth position at the end of the race, while BMW junior Joel Eriksson won the race with Carlin driver Lando Norris finishing second.

Jehan is seventh in the drivers' standings, but is the third best rookie driver

Jehan had a far from expected start in Race 3 as well, the final race for the weekend. The Sahara Force India Academy protege dropped down to 15th at the end of Lap 1, but managed to steadily move back into top 10. Daruvala cleared David Beckmann, Kevyan Andres Soori and Marino Sato, and even made contact with Soori at one point, which led to the latter's retirement. Meanwhile, the Indian soldiered on and had to eventually settle for ninth place at the end of Race 3.

After two rounds of the 2017 FIA F3 European Championship, it is Joel Eriksson that leads on the points table with 104 points followed closely by Lando Norris with 103 points. Jehan is seventh in the drivers' standings with 37 points, but is the third best rookie driver after Norris and Mick Schumacher.

The championship now heads to Pau for Round 3 of the F3 Championship during the 20-21st May weekend.