PANAJI: Sachin Tendulkar has congratulated Jehan Daruvala for winning the 2nd Formula 2 Race at Monza.
Tendulkar, who envisages the transformation of India from a sport-loving to sport-playing nation, tweeted a congratulatory message to @DaruvalaJehan. “Glad to see our youngsters advance into new sporting frontiers…!,” emphasised the Master Blaster.
At the Italian Grand Prix weekend, India’s 22-year-old Jehan started second, and completely dominated the field from lap 1 to win by a massive margin.
The Red Bull Racing Junior, started on the front row at the ‘Temple of Speed’ behind German racer David Beckman. As the lights went out, Jehan had an excellent start. He braked really late to make an excellent move into the first corner.
An incident behind resulted in a Virtual Safety Car situation. The moment racing resumed, Jehan put his head down and drove a clean consistent race. The first few laps had Beckman within DRS range, but Jehan kept his cool and slowly inched away, opening a 1 second margin. Once Beckman was out of DRS range, Jehan steadily increased his lead every lap.
Three laps before the finish, Jehan had already opened a comfortable 5 second margin. Beckman under pressure fell down to third while Dutchman, Bent Viscaal moved into second. Soon former F3 Champion, Robert Shwartzman from Russia also overtook the German.
Jehan’s dominance meant he won the race by over 6 seconds, ahead of Viscaal & Shwartzman. This was Jehan’s third podium of the season and second Formula 2 victory after he became the first ever Indian to win a Formula 2 race last year at the Sakhir Grand Prix weekend.
