Force India's 'One in a Billion' Daruvala eyes F1 future
After emerging as the victor of Sahara Force India's 'One in a Billion' search, Jehan Daruvala has impressed in his first year in single-seaters. He spoke to Darshan Chokhani about what the future may hold.
Photo by: James Moy
Daruvala is competing in the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC series this season, and has delivered on the obvious star potential he showed in karting.
Sitting sixth in the drivers’ championship and second in the rookie standings, the 16-year-old is one of the top candidates to follow in the footsteps of Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok and reach Formula 1.
His chances are boosted by being the sole member of Force India's academy, which aims to unearth India’s next Grand Prix star.
“Force India’s help has been good for my young racing career,” Daruvala told Motorsport.com in an exclusive interview.
“With some good results on track, it has aided my self-belief immensely. The target now is the Force India F1 seat.”
After his strong performances in karting, his debut in single-seaters was fast-tracked by a year, and he has not disappointed at all.
Confidence boost
Daruvala currently competes full-time in the 2.0 NEC series with Fortec Motorsports. He also drives in the Alps series as a guest driver, where in his second weekend he clinched two pole positions.
“It’s been a good year for me until now; the double pole at Misano (in the Alps series) really boosted my confidence,” Daruvala revealed.
After 11 races in the NEC season, the Indian has 10 point scoring finishes, including a podium and a rookie trophy, having retired only once.
However, the 16-year old has had troubles with his starts, an area which he says he has been working on.
New mentor
When Daruvala started karting in Europe, he was mentored by Terry Fullerton, whom Ayrton Senna had famously described as the “best racer” he ever competed against.
Although the pair haven’t been in touch lately, Daruvala thanked Fullerton for his guidance which has helped in his career.
Daruvala also revealed that current Formula Renault 3.5 championship leader Oliver Rowland is coaching and guiding him with his races.
Future decision in Force India’s hands
It's approaching the time of year when drivers traditionally start to focus on assembling their future programmes.
Daruvala, however, sees no rush for any commitments, saying: “No decision has been taken yet on my future, it is up to Force India and Fortec Motorsports.
“I am in no big rush to take any big step right now - as long as I am doing the right thing at the right time, it is all what matters to me,” he added.
The future Indian star also revealed that along with competing in the NEC and the Alps series, he is to race in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup’s three rounds at Silverstone, Nurburgring and Jerez this season.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Mahindra hurt by 'bad grid position' in Qatar Moto3
Kornfeil puts Peugeot in Top 3 on final Moto3 test day
Dalla Porta takes charge for Mahindra on Day 2 in Moto3 test
Da Costa: No penalty for Rowland's Formula E Tokyo defence "sucks"
Rowland: Formula E victory "was on the table" in Tokyo
Ranking the 10 best drivers who raced for DAMS
Budget issue forces Fortec out of Misano F3 round
Fortec to make European F3 return in Hungary
Fortec explains why it abandoned 2018 F2 entry
Mercedes joins Williams and RB with 'quick and cheap' F1 cockpit airflow upgrades
Alpine gets F1 spare car for first time as lighter chassis appears
Supercars Taupo: Mostert leads Ford 1-2-3 in opening practice
F1 Chinese GP: Stroll leads FP1 as small fire causes early red flag
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments