Jehan Daruvala: India's Formula 2 Race Winner and Former Red Bull Junior

Jehan Daruvala is an Indian racing driver who moved through Formula Renault and Formula 3 before winning races in Formula 2. He was once a protege of the Force India Formula One team and a member of the Red Bull Junior programme. His later career included Formula One testing with McLaren and a short spell in Formula E with Maserati MSG Racing.

Who is Jehan Daruvala?

Daruvala was born on 1 October 1998 in Mumbai, into a Parsi family. He studied at Bombay Scottish School in Mahim, and his father, Khurshed, chairs Sterling and Wilson, a company associated with Shapoorji Pallonji.

He was one of three winners of a Force India talent hunt called One in a Billion, staged by the team in 2011. That selection made him a protege of the Formula One team.

A Force India talent hunt led to Formula 2 wins, McLaren tests and a short but varied career across three continents.

How did Daruvala start in karting?

Daruvala started karting in 2011 at the age of thirteen and raced in series on two continents. In 2012 he took the Asia-Pacific Championship crown, and in 2013 the Super 1 National title, while finishing runner-up in several other series.

He finished third in the Karting World Championship in 2014. Early in his career he was coached by Rayomand Banajee, who had a key role in building his basic technique.

How did Daruvala perform in Formula Renault?

In 2015 Daruvala stepped up to single-seaters with Fortec Motorsport in the Formula Renault 2.0 series. He took three podiums and finished fifth in the Northern European Cup standings, and he drove as a guest in the Eurocup and Alps championships as well.

For 2016 he switched to Josef Kaufmann Racing, the reigning champions, partnering Lando Norris and Robert Shwartzman. He took pole position at the Monza opener and a podium in the second race, then won his first Formula Renault race at the Hungaroring.

The Northern European Cup ended with fourth place, after three more podiums. In the Eurocup he had an early podium at Aragon but could not repeat it often enough, and he finished ninth in the standings.

What did Daruvala win in New Zealand?

Before his 2016 European campaign, Daruvala raced in the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand. He claimed three victories and three further podiums to finish runner-up to Lando Norris in the championship.

He returned in 2017 and won two races, including the New Zealand Grand Prix. He also recorded the most pole positions of the season, but a more competitive field left him fifth overall. He won the Lady Wigram Trophy in 2016, a Formula Three race he would win again the following year.

How did Daruvala go in Formula 3?

In 2017 Daruvala joined Carlin for the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. He took his maiden pole at Monza and converted it into second place, then added a podium at the Hungaroring and his first win at the Norisring, where he passed the pole sitter at the start.

He finished sixth in the championship that year and raced in the Macau Grand Prix, where he finished tenth after starting 16th. He stayed with Carlin in 2018, opening with third at Pau before securing his only win of the year at Spa-Francorchamps, where he also took pole and fastest lap.

That season brought five podiums, but inconsistent results left him tenth in the championship. He returned to Macau and finished twelfth from seventeenth, and he also made a one-off appearance in the Yas Marina GP3 finale for MP Motorsport.

In 2019 he moved to Prema Racing for the inaugural FIA Formula 3 Championship, partnering Robert Shwartzman and Marcus Armstrong. His first win came in the Barcelona sprint after an overtake at the start, and a second followed at Paul Ricard, where he passed Jake Hughes for the lead.

Mid-season was less kind. A difficult qualifying session at Hungary left him outside the points for the first time that year. At Spa-Francorchamps he claimed his maiden pole and converted it into third in the feature race, followed by fifth in the sprint.

He finished third in the championship, with seven podiums including two wins, one pole and two fastest laps. He was due to race at Macau that year but withdrew through injury, and Frederik Vesti took his place.

How did Daruvala's Formula 2 career develop?

In 2020 Daruvala rejoined Carlin for the FIA Formula 2 Championship, partnering Yuki Tsunoda. He had been inducted into the Red Bull Junior Team at the start of that season, with the aim of reaching Formula One in 2021.

His debut came at the Red Bull Ring, where he qualified sixth. A poor start and a collision with Tsunoda left him thirteenth in the feature race, and he was sixteenth in the sprint. At the Hungaroring he qualified sixteenth, then used an alternate strategy to climb to sixth in the feature for his first Formula 2 points, and he added another sixth in the sprint. Early contact at Spa forced an unscheduled stop and a nineteenth-place finish.

At Sochi he qualified second alongside Tsunoda and then finished fifth in the feature race, but a time penalty took him out of the points in the sprint.

His breakthrough came at Bahrain, where he finished third in the feature race for his first podium. In the second Bahrain round he won the sprint race after overtaking Dan Ticktum late on, which gave him his first Formula 2 victory. He ended the 2020 season twelfth in the standings with 72 points, while Tsunoda was promoted to Formula One.

In 2021 he continued with Carlin, alongside Dan Ticktum, and started the year with second place in the opening race in Bahrain. He won the reverse-grid race at Monza and added a second win at Yas Marina. He finished seventh in the standings with 113 points, two wins and five podiums, although Ticktum outscored him.

At Silverstone a time penalty for contact with Bent Viscaal in the second sprint left him tenth in the feature race.

Before that season he had raced in the Formula 3 Asian Championship with Mumbai Falcons, finishing third overall with three wins and eight podiums. He finished behind Pierre-Louis Chovet and the champion, Guanyu Zhou.

For 2022 he joined Prema Powerteam alongside Dennis Hauger, who was also a Red Bull junior. His Monaco sprint finish of second completed a one-two for Prema, and at Monza he took his maiden Formula 2 feature win after a safety car restart. He finished seventh again with 126 points, one victory and seven additional podiums.

Mid-season was inconsistent. In Baku he was in front for much of the feature after a strong start, but a lock-up after the second safety car restart put him behind Vesti. In France he led early in the sprint, was passed by Liam Lawson, and still claimed a podium.

In 2023 he moved to MP Motorsport, where Hauger was again his teammate. He finished third in both Jeddah races, but the season was inconsistent, and he ended twelfth with 59 points and three podiums without a race win.

Did Daruvala drive Formula One cars?

He did not race in Formula One, but he tested for McLaren. After the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix he was given his first taste of a Formula One car, the McLaren MCL35M, at Silverstone. He had another test at the Algarve International Circuit in July 2022 and a third at Circuit Paul Ricard that September.

At the start of 2023 it was confirmed that he had been released from the Red Bull Junior Team after three years. He had been part of its roster since 2020.

What was Daruvala's Formula E career?

Late in 2022 Daruvala was named Mahindra Racing's test and reserve driver for the 2022-23 Formula E campaign. His first Formula E running came at a rookie test in Berlin in April 2023, and later that year he took part in a practice session at Rome.

On 27 September 2023 he signed with Maserati MSG Racing for the 2023-24 season, teaming up with Maximilian Gunther. He finished his debut race in Mexico City in sixteenth place, and he reached the duels stage of qualifying for the first time at Diriyah, where he qualified fifth before retiring with a technical problem.

His first points came with ninth place at the Misano ePrix. He was in contention for more in Monaco, but problems deploying Attack Mode dropped him to twentieth. His career-best Formula E result was seventh at the Berlin ePrix, which was also his second and final points finish of the season.

Daruvala finished the season 21st in the standings with eight points. Afterwards he left both Maserati and the championship, and in March 2025 he announced that he would not compete in any racing series that year.

Jehan Daruvala career summary