Indian racer Jehan Daruvala capped off a productive outing in Azerbaijan with a seventh place finish in the feature race of the FIA Formula 2 Championship in Baku on Sunday.
He had registered a podium finish in sprint race two earlier in the weekend.
Jehan, a Red Bull junior driver, secured crucial points in all three races in his maiden run on the streets of Baku. He finished fourth in the opening sprint race on Saturday and came third in the following sprint race.
It was a much-needed result for Jehan, who had a forgettable time in the previous round in Monaco. With 24 points from the weekend, he sits on the seventh spot in the drivers’ standings.
He made an excellent start from seventh spot and gained two places into corner one in sprint race two. Into the second corner, Jehan made another good overtake on Armstrong, to move up into fourth.
Behind him others crashed, bringing out the safety car allowing the cars to be cleared safely. The safety car restart saw Jehan take advantage and make an excellent move to overtake Juri Vips for third, but the Estonian got the place back after a few corners.
Jehan soon climbed up another place, overtaking Dutchman Bent Viscaal. Jehan then settled into a good rhythm in third. One more safety car period ensued, followed by a Virtual Safety Car.
Jehan managed to keep his concentration and continued his consistent drive. Past the midway point, Bent Viscaal of the Netherlands, in fourth, started piling up pressure on Jehan. The Indian was unfazed and kept his cool and soaked up the immense pressure lap after lap.
Fellow Red Bull junior Vips won the 21 lap race ahead of Germany’s David Beckman. Jehan was a mere six tenths of a second behind to secure his second podium this year in F2, after his fantastic second place finish in Bahrain earlier this year.
“A decent weekend with good points. I was aggressive at the start of Race 2 and 3 and it paid off well. It was good to be back on the podium and I am confident of fighting for podiums and wins in the upcoming races.” said the 22-year-old from Mumbai.
Jehan earlier finished a strong fourth place in Race 1, while Race 3 on Sunday saw Jehan make up two places from ninth to finish seventh. Round 4 of the FIA Formula 2 Championship will be held at the famed Silverstone circuit, as part of the British Grand Prix weekend in mid-July.
MotoGP: KTM’s Oliveira powers to victory in Barcelona thriller
KTM rider Miguel Oliveira fended off Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo in an intense battle to claim his first win of the season at the Catalunya Grand Prix in Barcelona on Sunday.
Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco made a late charge to finish second as championship leader Quartararo dropped down to fourth after being given a three-second penalty for exceeding track limits.
Oliveira came under increasing pressure from Zarco on the final stretch but held off the Frenchman by 0.175 seconds, while Jack Miller rounded out the podium on his factory Ducati.
“It was probably the best race of my career so far,” Oliveira said in a post-race interview. “Everything was so hard — the tyre management and Fabio was just putting pressure on me for so many laps.
“But I kept it really cool and it was a perfect race. I can’t thank KTM enough for giving me an amazing machine today.”
Miller used Ducati’s supreme launch system to take the lead on the opening lap ahead of Oliveira and Quartararo, who started on pole position for a fifth straight time.
The Australian, however, made a mistake at the Turn 4 right-hander on the third lap to let Oliveira slip into the lead, while Quartararo dropped to fifth following an unsuccessful overtaking attempt on Miller.
Quartararo steadily improved his lap timings to pass Oliveira at the halfway stage but the Portuguese roared back to reclaim the lead two laps later.
Oliveira preserved his tyres to extend his advantage at the top before Quartararo ran off the track with three laps remaining.
In a bizarre finale, Quartararo’s leathers burst open and he lost his chest protector but he continued to battle for the final podium spot with Miller.
Oliveira was flawless in the final stages to take his third victory in the premier class and move up to seventh in the championship standings.
Defending world champion Joan Mir finished fifth on his Suzuki, ahead of Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales.
Six-times MotoGP champion Marc Marquez crashed out for a third consecutive race, while Honda team mate Pol Espargaro joined him on the sidelines.
The late drama ensured Quartararo’s championship lead was trimmed to 17 points by Zarco, with Miller taking third place ahead of Ducati team mate Francesco Bagnaia.
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