Invicta Racing’s Kush Maini says he is confident that he can be up the front in qualifying this weekend in Jeddah, a week after his pole lap in Bahrain was thrown out due to a technical infringement.

By Steven Walton

Last week in Bahrain, Maini qualified first with a lap that was 0.219s faster than his second-placed teammate Gabriel Borotoleto.

But after the session, Maini was disqualified for a technical infringement. According to his team, Invicta Racing, the infringement was caused by damage from a kerb, and it gave Maini no extra performance.

‘You can’t dwell on one unfortunate event’

Speaking to selected media in Saudi Arabia – including Feeder Series – Maini said the disqualification was frustrating. 

“But as a racing driver, I think I’ve learned over the years that you can’t dwell on one unfortunate event for too long.” 

He said what happened was a freak incident and he has full confidence it will not happen again.

Maini said he was happy that he still scored points in Bahrain, despite having to start both races from the back. “You know, six points starting from 22nd in both races is a positive for me,” he said.

“At least it shows what we’re capable of, because in my eyes, you know, we did that pole on track and nothing can take that away from me, so it shows that coming into this weekend, we have the car to do it, and that gives me massive confidence coming into Jeddah,” he told Feeder Series.

Qualifying strength new for Maini

Maini has always been a strong qualifier in F2. Last season while driving for Campos, he qualified inside the top ten at eight out of 13 races. His best qualifying in 2023 was second, which he achieved in Silverstone.

“I think last year we really maximised what we had in the one lap runs, but we didn’t really figure out the race pace, which we struggled with,” he told Feeder Series. “In my junior formula and in karting, [qualifying] was never really a strength, my races were a strength, so it’s nice to see that it’s changed.”

Maini said it was “a massive boost in confidence” to put his car on pole by more than two-tenths in Bahrain.

“So you know, I’m confident that in quali [in Jeddah] we’ll be up there and from what I’ve shown in Bahrain now in the races, I’m confident that we have a good car in the races and I have a better understanding of what to do in the races,” he told Feeder Series.

“You know, not to jump the gun, but I’m feeling very positive for the season ahead.”

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency