The fastest street circuit in Formula 2

321.6kmph — that was the top speed set by a Formula 2 car in 2022, at a circuit that sees only two hard braking zones as drivers navigate 27 ‘corners’. Jehan Daruvala had a good outing at this circuit last year, finishing on the third top step of the race after a bold strategic call which saw him leapfrog to the podium finish after starting from the seventh. Kush Maini, meanwhile, had never raced at the circuit before. However, his performance at the Bahrain circuit last week meant high expectations from his team, motorsport pundits, and fans alike.

Blink and 14 cars fly by

Free practice on Friday saw everyone head out on track early, eager to learn the changes made to the circuit to improve safety. These included moving the tunnel-vision-inducing walls back a bit for better visibility and adding tech-pro barriers and key crash points seen in 2022. Times tumbled as the session progressed, with Kush Maini showing a promising pace again. While Jehan set quick times at the beginning of the session, he was 10th fastest by the end, while Maini finished fourth! True to its name, the top 14 drivers had lap times which were within one second of the leader. Fourteenth-placed DAMS racing driver Ayumu Iwasa was just 1.002 seconds slower than the quickest time set by Prema racing driver Oliver Bearman.

2023 Jeddah FIA Formula 2 qualifying

With cooler track temperatures, 20 of the 22 drivers set times quicker than the lap set during free practice earlier in the day. Early on in the session, it was Maini who showed that being a rookie didn’t mean he couldn’t be fast around the circuit, setting the second-fastest lap time. With the track getting rubbered in and temperatures dropping ever lower, the times began to tumble quickly. Jehan set the fourth fastest time of 1:42.111 but was pushed down to fifth when Jack Doohan set a time just 0.001 seconds quicker. Kush Maini, meanwhile, could only set a time of 1:42.360, finishing eighth fastest. Both of them could have set faster times but a red flag was brought by Arthur Leclerc in the dying moments of the session, stopping all efforts to exploit the supersoft tyre compound for an even quicker time.

2023 Jeddah FIA Formula 2 sprint race

The mandated reverse grid for the top 10 positions for the sprint race meant Kush Maini would begin from the third position on the grid, while Jehan started from fifth. Jeddah’s narrow street circuit, coupled with three DRS zones means the drivers in these equally matched machines need to use every ounce of their skill to stay ahead of the competition. Kush Maini found this out the hard way, going down to fourth by the time he reached the first corner — trumped by Ayumu Iwasa who would go on to win the race. Red flags brought the pack back together twice in the race, but Maini could not improve beyond fifth by the end. However, he did have good scraps with Hitech driver Jack Crawford.

It seems like Jehan Daruvala loves the quick Jeddah circuit, he closed up to and overtook both Maini and Maini’s compatriot Ralph Boschung. By the third restart, Jehan was on race leader Iwasa’s tail, with Victor Martins hot on his tail. Iwasa was able to use a cool head and excellent car placement to keep Jehan from taking the lead into the first corner. In fact, Jehan was forced wide and lost the second position to Martins, both of them were unable to break through the wall-like defence put up by Iwasa.

Asked about his emotions on finishing third in the race, though he had chances to be the winner or finish second, Jehan said, “To be honest, there are a bunch of mixed emotions …. But coming from Bahrain, if someone told me I would have this much pace in Jeddah, I would definitely take it …. I have no regrets. I tried to win the race and, in the end, it didn't pay off.”

2023 Jeddah FIA Formula 2 feature race

On Sunday, Jehan started from fourth on the grid, thanks to a grid penalty for Theo Pourcaire after taking out Oliver Bearman in the sprint race. Meanwhile, Maini started from eight. While Jehan moved forwards and eventually onto the podium, Maini went back and finished 12th overall. Jehan capitalised on race-ending mistakes from Oliver Bearman (starting 2nd) and Victor Martins (starting 1st), both of whom spun out as the cars struggled to keep their tyres cool over the 28-lap high-speed race.

When asked about his second podium finish this weekend, Jehan said, “Yesterday I would say I was disappointed that I didn’t win but today I’m happy to be third …. I just stayed out of trouble, and picked up on the mistakes of the other guys …. It definitely feels good and I can go into Australia with a bit more confidence.”

A safe early-stop strategy was adopted by most of the top-10 finishers, though some decided to extend their first set of tyres as much as possible for a quick dash to finish in the points. But the high temperatures made it difficult for many to hold on to their track positions and this was the case with Kush Maini. How the tables have turned for both drivers as compared to last week!

2023 FIA Formula 2 driver ranking

With two podium finishes, Jehan Daruvala has moved up to fifth position overall from 11th last week. Maini only scored four points this weekend and slipped down to ninth overall. Maini’s Campos Racing outfit retains its position at the top of the team standings, though their drivers could only manage to add nine points to their tally, all of which were scored during the low-scoring sprint race.

Jehan’s 21-point haul, along with teammate Dennis Hauger’s 11 points have propelled MP Motorsport to the fourth position in the team championship. Formula 2 heads to Melbourne next, to the iconic Albert Park grand prix circuit. Stay tuned for all updates!

Photos courtesy - Formula 2, Dutch Photo Agency, Jehan Daruvala and Kush Maini on Instagram