F2: Daruvala finishes 5th in feature race
CHENNAI: After emerging victorious in the second sprint race of the fifth round of the 2021 Formula 2 Championship on Saturday — his second Formula 2 victory — the feature race in Monza, Italy, on Sunday saw India’s Jehan Daruvala settle for a fifth-place finish.
Daruvala had put up a dominant display in the sprint race on Saturday, but he wasn’t able to replicate that effort in the 30-lap race as he started sluggishly and clocked a timing of 56:41.936. Australia’s Oscar Piastri finished first with a timing of 56:39.491 and extended his lead in the championship. Daruvalu, who drives for the UK-based Carlin Racing, is in his second season in Formula 2. In 2020, he finished 12th in the overall standings, having ended the season on an optimistic note with his first F2 victory coming in Bahrain.
While Daruvala is seventh in the standings this season, Raymond Banerjee — under whom the 22-year-old began training — believes that his former ward has more to offer. “This season hasn’t been one of the best for him. He has always been quick, but things sometimes just don’t work out. He has had 3 podiums so far this season (he finished second once, third once and then won the race on Saturday). So he is in the top-10 in the championship, but it is not a great situation,” he said.