Bahrain GP: Kush Maini scores points in F2 debut

    The Indian racer just missed out on the podium, finishing fourth in his F2 feature race debut.

    Published On Mar 05, 2023 06:52:00 PM

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    Kush Maini F2 Bahrain

    Maini finished fourth in the F2 Bahrain feature race

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    Indian racer Kush Maini has made a strong start to his FIA Formula 2 career after finishing in the points in both, the sprint and feature races in Bahrain. Driving for Campos Racing, he finished seventh in the sprint race and followed that up with a fourth place result in the feature race.

    Jehan Daruvala, meanwhile, fought through the pack to finish sixth in the sprint race. But the feature race was a more disappointing affair and he could only manage P17.

    • Maini P7 in sprint race, P4 in feature race
    • Boschung wins Bahrain sprint race
    • Pourchaire wins feature race

    Kush Maini P4 in F2 Bahrain feature race

    Maini finished 14th in the F3 championship last year and graduated to F2 with Campos Racing this season. He set the sixth fastest time in his maiden qualifying, handing him a fifth place starting position for the reverse grid sprint race. He lost a handful of positions at the start, but made a good recovery to finish seventh, while teammate Ralph Boschung took victory.

    He had a much better start to the feature race and had already climbed to second place heading into the first corner. Maini remained in podium contention till the very end, but ultimately had to give way to Zane Maloney, who made full use of his fresher tyres to go from 18th on the grid to third in the race. Theo Pourchaire took a lights-to-flag victory ahead of Boschung.

    Finishing fourth, Maini just missed out on the podium. But the Indian collected a strong points haul in his debut F2 round. He’s currently fourth in the standings with a total of 14 points, just one point behind Maloney.

    Mixed Bahrain round for Daruvala

    This year, we have two Indians on the F2 grid. While Maini is making his debut, there’s also Jehan Daruvala who is taking on his fourth F2 campaign, this time with reigning champions MP Motorsport.

    After starting from 11th on the grid, Daruvala weaved through the field to finish sixth in the sprint race. Speaking after the race, he said he believed his pace was strong enough for a podium finish in the feature race, but that didn’t materialise. He ended up finishing 17th after receiving a five-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane.

    2023 F2 Bahrain results

    2023 F2 Bahrain sprint race results
    PosDriverTeam
    1Ralph BoschungCampos Racing
    2Dennis HaugerMP Motorsport
    3Victor MartinsART Grand Prix
    4Ayumu IwasaDAMS
    5Theo PourchaireART Grand Prix
    6Jehan DaruvalaMP Motorsport
    7Kush MainiCampos Racing
    8Enzo FittipaldiCarlin
    9Zane MaloneyCarlin
    10Juan Manuel CorreaVan Amersfoort Racing
    11Jack DoohanVirtuosi Racing
    12Arthur LeclercDAMS
    13Roman StanekTrident
    14Jak CrawfordHitech Pulse-Eight
    15Oliver BearmanPrema Racing
    16Clement NovalakTrident
    17Frederik VestiPrema Racing
    18Roy NissanyPHM Racing by Charouz
    19Brad BenavidesPHM Racing by Charouz
    20Isack HadjarHitech Pulse-Eight
    21Amaury CordeelVirtuosi Racing
    22Richard VerschoorVan Amersfoort Racing

    2023 F2 Bahrain feature race results
    PosDriverTeam
    1Thoo PourchaireART Grand Prix
    2Ralph BoschungCampos Racing
    3Zane MaloneyCarlin
    4Kush MainiCampos Racing
    5Richard VerschoorVan Amersfoort Racing
    6Arthur LeclercDAMS
    7Isack HadjarHitech Pulse-Eight
    8Ayumu IwasaDAMS
    9Enzo FittipaldiCarlin
    10Juan Manuel CorreaVan Amersfoort Racing
    11Roy NissanyPHM Racing by Charouz
    12Jak CrawfordHitech Pulse-Eight
    13Clement NovalakTrident
    14Oliver BearmanPrema Racing
    15Amaury CordeelVirtuosi Racing
    16Jack DoohanVirtuosi Racing
    17Jehan DaruvalaMP Motorsport
    18Brad BenavidesPHM Racing by Charouz
    DNFDennis HaugerMP Motorsport
    DNFVictor MartinsART Grand Prix
    DNFFrederik VestiPrema Racing
    DNFRoman StanekTrident

    Image source

    Also see:

    Jehan Daruvala: “My future lies in Formula E”

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