India's Daruvala fired up to build on strong F2 start in Jeddah

Mumbai, March 24

India's Jehan Daruvala, who finished second in the season-opener in Bahrain, heads to Saudi Arabia's Jeddah Corniche circuit fired up to build on the strong start to his season at the second round of the Formula 2 championship this weekend.

The 23-year-old from Mumbai, who races for Prema and is part of the Red Bull Junior Team, goes into this weekend determined to take a similarly strong result, if not go one better. He will also be hoping to bounce back from a difficult Feature race in Sakhir, where his efforts were undone after an aggressive move by Roy Nissany damaged his front wing.

The 6.1-km long Jeddah Corniche circuit, a thrilling combination of flat-out sweeps and high-speed corners hemmed in by walls, made its debut on the calendar last year.

The second-fastest venue on the calendar after Italian 'Temple of Speed' Monza, it is one of Daruvala's favourites, according to a release by his management team. He made a stunning double-overtake, hailed as one of the moves of the season, on champion Oscar Piastri and Christian Lundgaard in the first Sprint race there last year.

Daruvala was classified 14th in the second Sprint event due to a time penalty but actually finished second on the road after a race-long battle for the win with Piastri.

"Jeddah is a high-speed, challenging track that I really enjoyed driving at last year," said Daruvala, who is aiming to become the first Indian to win the Formula 2 title.

"The track suits the team well, so we can aim for a big result together this weekend."

The Jeddah track also played to Prema's strengths last year. The team locked out the front row in qualifying and won two of the three races, including scoring a one-two in the Feature race.