When Narain Karthikeyan made his Formula One debut with Jordan in 2005, there was hope it would open the doors for several other Indian drivers. Since then, however, just one has made it to the pinnacle of single-seater racing: Karun Chandhok (11 starts between 2010 and 2011).
And since 2012, when Narain, driving for back-of-the-grid outfit HRT, made the last of his 46 starts, no Indian has come close to securing an F1 seat. This was despite the presence of an Indian-owned team, Force India, from 2008 to 2018.
But after a decade, there is a small glimmer of hope: it will depend, however, on whether things go well for Jehan Daruvala in the FIA Formula 2 championship this year. The 23-year-old, a part of the Red Bull Racing F1 team’s junior driver programme since 2020, is the Indian closest to the finishing point on the road to F1. He has an extensive CV in the junior categories leading up to the top level and this will be his third year in the final category before F1.
After two years with Carlin Racing, Daruvala heads to Prema Racing, the best team in the junior categories, for what could be his final year in F2. Prema has dominated the championship with the two most recent drivers’ champions coming from its stable.
After finishing 12th and 7th in the standings in the last two years, Daruvala needs to be fighting for the title in what is a pivotal year for him. “I think I prepare as much as I can for every season. For me to reach my goal of being in Formula 1, this is a make-or-break year,” he said in a chat with The Hindu, looking forward to the 2022 season.
Daruvala’s story is an illustration of how difficult the road to F1 is, especially for someone from this part of the world. In fact, he is the only Indian so far to have had a proper roadmap to F1. He was scouted by Force India in a nation-wide talent hunt in 2012 and was part of the team’s young driver academy. He has been racing in Europe for close to a decade, climbing the ladder from karting to Formula Renault, Formula 3 and now Formula 2 with varying degrees of success.
But even for someone who moved to Europe as a teenager, it is a hard path because of how tough the competition with Europe-based youngsters is. “I think the unfortunate reality is that the level is a lot higher when you come to Europe. Even if you are winning races in India, dominating, when you move to Asia, it is already a level higher. When we first came to Europe, our first target was to be in the final 36,” said Daruvala. “That is how the level was. They start karting from the age of four or five years. They know the path and route to motorsport. When I was eight, we didn't even know if there was a national karting championship in India,” he added.
“In that way, the infrastructure is a lot bigger, more money involved and multiple things add up. I have been lucky to have had the support of my parents. I was in school for just 100 days in a whole year. It takes a lot of sacrifices, commitment and support of your parents to commit to such a sport.”
Also, with the new eligibility criteria to get into F1, a proper junior career in Europe is essential, with a driver needing 40 Super Licence points, given based on results over three years, which Daruvala now has.
The Indian GP that ran for three years did little to tap new talent but with a possible Formula E race in Hyderabad next year and the presence of Mahindra Racing in the series, Daruvala hopes things can improve. “We don’t have a lot of Indians fighting at this level of motorsport which is not great. It will be nice to see a lot more of us together in the paddock all fighting. Maybe the Formula E race and with Mahindra, it can change and there are kids inspired to take up any form of motorsport and we can see a lot more growth and development in Indian motorsport.”
Following the route that was mapped out for him, it took until 2019 for Daruvala to really come into his own, fighting for the Formula 3 championship until the last round and eventually finishing third in the standings driving for the Prema team.
“The fact that in 2019 I was fighting for the title till the last round in a 30-car field gave me self-belief. I never doubted myself but that gave me the belief I belong. It was the season that made Red Bull believe in me and the support from them started after that year,” he explained.
However, in the last two years, despite three wins, he was beaten by his F2 teammate, one of whom was current AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda (2020). He knows he needs to step his game up.
An area he focused on was being a bit more aggressive in combat and he said it helped him finish the year strongly.
When asked about the changes in preparation for this crucial year, Daruvala said, “There is no physical change but the thing is to be in the frame of mind where I was at the end of last season which is to be more aggressive and more assertive in what I do. I will start the season with that frame of mind and I need to be aggressive and show everyone I am here to win.”
Another aspect that will play a crucial role — something that might need work — is his performance in qualifying. He needs to start getting wins in feature races, not just in the reverse-grid sprints.
Speaking about it, Daruvala said, “We weren't quite fast enough to win a feature race last year. I think the first half of the year was not great but in the second half, I consistently out-qualified my teammate. We were not fast enough to fight for pole but had front-row starts in Monza and Sochi in back-to-back weekends, so the pace was there and it was about converting. I rate myself as a fast driver in qualifying so there is no reason why I can't do that the whole year. Now with the points for sprint races being reduced [15 to 10 for a win], the feature races will matter a lot.”
One thing he has going for him is the backing of Red Bull Racing, even though it is the toughest place for a junior driver. The programme is the most intense on the grid, with cut-throat competition ensuring that subpar results are not tolerated for long.
The programme is run by former Austrian racer Helmut Marko, who is known as a tough taskmaster while dealing with young drivers.
“I have been pushed by Dr. Marko to be more aggressive and show everyone, and it definitely paid off at the end of the year. It gives me a lot of confidence that they want to support me and they believe I am capable of going to F1. That’s the main thing. If they didn't believe that, I wouldn't be with the team. If at the end of last year someone told me I would be with RBR and Prema, I would have taken it. Everything is in place and now it is time to go and deliver results,” said the racer from Mumbai.
But with five drivers featuring in Red Bull’s junior programme in F2 this year, he is also realistic that they are all fighting for probably one F1 spot: the second seat at AlphaTauri if it opens up. Although he maintains that F1 is his ultimate goal, Daruvala is open to other single-seater categories such as Formula E to have a professional career in racing.
“I will definitely be continuing in racing but I have not really thought about it. My main goal is to focus on this championship. If F1 doesn’t happen, I will look at what is good. I would like to stay in single-seaters and so Formula E is an option.
“The journey so far has been difficult but also enjoyable. I love racing even though there are a lot of ups and downs. I have been living the dream since I was 10 and I will be slightly disappointed if I don’t go to F1. But I will do everything on- and off-track to get there,” he said, signing off.
