India's Jehan Daruvala Overcomes Qualifying Setback in Zandvoort
Jehan Daruvala battled through the pack to overtake a qualifying setback during the Dutch round of the Formula 2 championship at Zandvoort. After the summer break, Daruvala had trouble keeping up with racing pace after being the fastest driver in the field throughout the first half of the season.
The vehicle was back on pace in qualifying and the race after the frustration of the first five rounds. Daruvala was prevented from starting in the top three because of an unusual mistake on the challenging Zandvoort course.
Daruvala was one of just two drivers trying an overtaking effort in Saturday's shorter Sprint race, but was unable to make any progress due to the coastal track's famously challenging 4-km long, tight, and winding layout.
He moved up from 17th to 10th in Sunday's major Feature race, though, by using strategy and wisdom behind the wheel. Daruvala said, “It’s a shame I made that mistake in qualifying as we had the pace to fight at the front this weekend. Still, even if the result isn’t what we wanted, there are positives to take. We seem to have turned the page on our recent struggles and rediscovered our speed. So it’s going to be maximum push now heading into a final couple of rounds."
The penultimate race of the season will now take place at Monza, Italy. Throughout his junior career, Daruvala showed exceptional performance on the fast track, culminating in a commanding pole-to-flag victory in 2021.
