“Super excited for my first Formula 1 drive with McLaren!”- Red Bull junior driver to make F1 debut for McLaren at Silverstone car testing

Red Bull junior driver Jehan Daruvala is set to take part in his first ever Formula 1 outing with McLaren next week in Silverstone. 

Daruvala became a Red Bull junior when he competed for Carlin in the 2020 F2 Championship. In his rookie F2 season, he didn’t really impress under the spotlight, finishing 12th in the standing. The following year however, he made some amends and finished P7.

2022 on the other hand, has seen the Indian driver make some major strides forward. He is currently third in the standings, and has five podium finishes to his name after six rounds. He’s the leading Red Bull junior driver in the standings up until now, and the Milton-Keynes based outfit has decided to offer him the next big challenge.

Earlier this year, fellow Red Bull junior Juri Vips made his F1 practice debut earlier this year for Red Bull in Barcelona. Daruvala meanwhile, won’t be taking part in an FP1 session as of yet. Instead, he will drive McLaren’s MCL35M around Silverstone as a part of their TCP program.

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Red Bull junior Jehan Daruvala set to drive a Formula 1 car for first time ever

There have been only two Indian drivers in Formula 1 till date. Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok are the only two from the country to take part in race weekends. Out of that, Karthikeyan is the only one to earn points.

Daruvala’s McLaren drive was confirmed on social media by himself and also the McLaren outfit. “Super excited and grateful for the opportunity to have my first experience in a Formula 1 car testing with McLaren this week!,” he said. A big thank you to the Red Bull Junior Team, my family, my support team, Mumbai Falcons, McLaren and to everyone who’s supported me along the way!

Daruvala is arguably the most talented racing driver India has seen in a long time. With multiple F2 wins to his name, fans of the driver hope to see him in F1 soon.

However, the Red Bull talent pool is very deep. The likes of Vips, Liam Lawson, Dennis Hauger among many others are all competing for an F1 seat. Daruvala has to be at the top of his game in the coming months to have hope of getting an F1 seat.

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