Jehan Daruvala to test a McLaren F1 car at Silverstone
The young Indian F2 driver will get his first taste of Formula 1, joining a list of an elite few Indians who have driven F1 cars.
India’s Jehan Daruvala is the country’s only current hope for Formula 1, both in terms of F1 gaining more traction in India and a representative of the country in the sport at a competitive spot. He has been a member of the Red Bull junior team for the past few years of his career. Though, despite his ties with RB, Jehan and McLaren announced that he would be testing for McLaren F1 car on 21st and 22nd June at Silverstone. He will be testing Mclaren’s MCL35M from 2021 as recent rule changes in F1 have allowed for teams to have private testing with cars as recent as 2021.
This is the very car that won the Italian GP at Monza at the hands of Daniel Ricciardo, and in the hands of Lando Norris took a further 4 podiums. Daruvala joins the likes of names like Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan as the few Indians who have tested actual F1 machinery.
As part of our Testing Previous Car (TPC) programme, @DaruvalaJehan will test the MCL35M at Silverstone on 21 June and 22 June.
Enjoy your first drive in an F1 car, Jehan! 👊🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/rimIYCtE7q
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 20, 2022
Daruvala sits P3 in the Formula 2 standings currently, driving for PREMA Motorsport with 73 points and a handful of podiums to his name. This test will likely be a good morale booster for the Mumbai native prior to his F2 race at Silverstone next week. While stats might suggest only 3 wins in the past 3 years in F2, Daruvala needs a morale booster like this to come into his own. It’s a proud moment for India for sure but, as all Indian parents, we expect him to do better and get a permanent seat in F1.
