A double podium for MP Motorsport’s Jehan Daruvala on the streets of Jeddah has given him confidence as Formula 2 makes its debut down under at Melbourne’s very own street layout, Albert Park. The Indian driver gave Feeder Series his insight into the circuit and touched on his performances so far this season.

By Tyler Foster

Since 1996, Australia’s F1 venue has been Albert Park. For the first time ever, both Formula 2 and Formula 3 will also appear on the weekend’s racing schedule after the track was added to the series’ calendars this year.

For Daruvala, this could be a blessing: the 24-year-old has enjoyed recent success at street circuits, achieving seven podiums on them throughout his F2 career. A pair of podiums last time out in Jeddah will have lifted his confidence as he arrives in Melbourne for the first time.

“I have enjoyed street circuits. Actually, earlier in my career I didn’t, and now I do a lot. I think Albert Park is a very nice track. I’ve driven it a lot on the PlayStation, that’s about it, and a bit on the sim. I think it will play into my strengths and the team’s strengths because there’s a lot of high-speed corners and I believe our car is quite strong in high speed. I generally have a lot of confidence in high-speed corners.”

A competitive grid

Currently in his fourth season in Formula 2, Daruvala is one of the more experienced drivers in the paddock. However, he is aware more than ever of the high level of talent within the current grid, saying, “When the field is so competitive, it’s almost impossible to qualify first and win the race.” Despite this, the MP Motorsport driver still has the belief that he can outperform everyone else.

“The grid is very competitive. From everyone’s articles and people writing, it’s meant to be the most competitive grid in F2 history. I expect there to be a lot of different winners throughout the season. Consistency is going to be key. I don’t see one person running away with the title. I don’t see why I can’t win the championship.”

High standards

After the opening two rounds, Daruvala sits a comfortable fifth in the drivers’ standings – nine points behind leader Ralph Boschung but five points ahead of his teammate Dennis Hauger. A disappointing start in Bahrain saw him leave with just three points before he redeemed himself with a stellar display in Jeddah, scoring two third-place finishes.

“I think the first weekend was difficult for me. The second one was a good comeback. Between me and Dennis [Hauger], he had a better weekend than me in Bahrain and I was stronger throughout the weekend in Jeddah.”

To be consistently be in the top four and five, to fight for podiums in both races is what I expected from the beginning.

These two contrasting performances leave Daruvala with more questions than answers, he admitted. “I still don’t know what went wrong in Bahrain,” he said. Despite stating that he was unhappy with his season so far, he expressed pride in putting that opening weekend behind him and coming back strong in Jeddah.

He currently has more podiums this season than Bahrain feature race winner Théo Pourchaire, and this is now the standard that he has set for himself. It is clear that Daruvala has the pace to compete towards the front throughout entire weekends.

“To consistently be in the top four and five, to fight for podiums in both races, is what I expected from the beginning,” he said.

The biggest challenge that Daruvala faces this weekend in Melbourne is repeating his recent form.

Header photo credit: Sebastiaan Rozendaal / Dutch Photo Agency