Jehan Daruvala Joins Red Bull Junior Program For 2020 Formula 2 Season, To Race With Carlin

• Is one of eight drivers currently in the Red Bull Junior program.
• His third place overall result in the 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship remains the best result for an Indian racer in an F1 feeder series.
• Is the second driver after American Jak Crawford to join the Red Bull program in 2020.
• The 2020 Formula 2 season will commence on March 22 in Bahrain.

In what is a mega boost to Indian motorsport,  Jehan Daruvala has been signed up by the Red Bull Junior Program to compete in the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship. The 21 year old racer will join Red Bull junior, 19 year old Yuki Tsunoda for his rookie year in the F2 campaign. This is his third season with Carlin after representing them in the FIA F3 European Championship in 2017 & 2018 earning 8 podiums besides finishing 2nd in the Rookie Championship with 26 rookie podiums in 2017.

Jehan Daruvala finished the 2019 FIA Formula 3 campaign in third place in the championship standings for Prema Racing, only a point off  2nd place. He won two races early on and scored another 5 podiums to finish behind teammates Marcus Amrstrong and the champion, Robert Schwartzman. It was the best result an Indian racer has achieved over a season in an F1 feeder series. 

Daruvala has had a long journey that started with karting in 2009. After taking multiple titles in 2010 and 2011, he was selected as a member of the Sahara Force India Junior Program. Further karting titles followed with the 2012 CIK FIA Asia Pacific KF3 Championship and the 2013 British Super One KF3 Championship. In 2015, he made the switch to single-seater racing and scored multiple podiums in Formula Renault 2.0 North European Cup and European Cup. In 2016 he was runner-up behind Lando Norris in the Toyota Racing Series. Jehan became the first Indian to win a race classified as a ‘Grand Prix’, when he won the 2017 New Zealand Grand Prix. 

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With this signing, Jehan is one of eight drivers currently in the Red Bull Junior Program. He is also the second driver after American Jak Crawford to be included in the program in 2020. Juri Vips was expected to join F2 after his F3 campaign last year, but he will be competing in the Japanese Super Formula Series this season. The Red Bull junior program is one of the most coveted programs in the Formula One world, churning out talents like 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Alex Albon among others. 

The 2020 F2 season will consist of 22 drivers that are a mix of experienced and rookie drivers. 13 of them are affiliated with a Formula One junior development program. Pre-season testing kicks off on March 1 at Bahrain, with the season opener on the 22nd. Could Jehan Daruvala be the next Indian F1 racer after Narain Karthikeyan in 2012? Only time will tell.

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