Arjun Maini (born 10 December 1997) is an Indian professional racing driver, currently competing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, and in the GT World Challenge Europe for Haupt Racing Team. He is currently a Ford Factory driver. He was the winner of Force India's 'One in a Billion' driver hunt in 2011.
Early life Maini comes from a family of racers. His brother Kush is also a racer competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with ART Grand Prix, and his father, Gautam, raced in the National Racing Championship in the late 1990s, at the Formula India Single Seater Maruti Engine. The teenager first fell in love with motorsport when his father gave him an electric car. Maini received his first go-kart, an 80cc Comer Kart at the age of five.
Maini's uncle Chetan Maini is an Indian business magnate best known for building India's first electric car, REVA, and as the Founder of Reva Electric Car Company Ltd, now Mahindra Electric Mobility Limited, where he served as an advisor.
Maini idolises Sebastian Vettel and in his free time enjoys wrestling, cycling, fitness activities and video editing.
Junior career
Karting Maini received his first go-kart, an 80cc Comer Kart, at the age of five. At the young age of eight, Maini won his first two championships, the MRF Mini Max Championship in both the Rotax class and the 4-stroke Cadet class in his first year of racing. After his first titles, Maini raced on foreign soil for the first time in the Asia Max championship, which led to immediate success. In 2008, Maini became the youngest Indian to win a kart race abroad by winning the Malaysian Royal Kelantan Kart Prix held in 2008.
Maini was the youngest driver to take part in the J.K. Tyre Rotax Max Junior Max National championship at the age of 11. He was selected by the Red Rooster Racing Team in 2009. He then took part in the Rotax Max Challenge India - Junior in 2010 and finished in second place, with the highest number of fastest laps. Maini's major breakthrough came in 2011 where he won the J.K.Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship title in the Junior Max category and followed this up by becoming the Sahara Force India team's One from a Billion winner. He was also the winner of AKOC race in Macau as well as the Ask KF3 Race in Elite, Malaysia. He finished second overall in the AKS Malaysian Championship 2011.
In his penultimate year of karting, Maini finished a creditable fifth in the ROK Cup International Final in Junior ROK category. Maini was awarded the best rookie at Rowrah while racing in the MSA British Karting Championship. He also finished in second place in Junior category in the Indonesia Kart Prix 2012 along with first place in the Junior max category in Rotax Invitational Karting Race held at Kuala Lumpur.
Lower formulas Maini then stepped up into cars in 2013. He finished runner up in the J.K.Tyre Racing Series championship, winning two races at the Buddh International Circuit as well as winning the Malaysian Super 6 Series. He also competed in the WSK Euro and Master karting in the KF category.
In 2014, Maini then went on to compete in the BRDC Formula 4 championship; finishing second overall and missing out on the championship by three points to teammate George Russell. He finished the championship with eight wins and nine podium finishes. He was also the highest ranked Indian driver in the Driver Database
At the beginning of 2015, Maini showed remarkable pace in the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand en route to a fourth overall in the championship with two wins, five podiums and three poles. He also finished fourth overall in Race 2 of the Pau Grand Prix. However, a learning year in the FIA European Formula 3 series meant he could only manage 18th overall and ninth in the rookie class. Maini did manage to end the season on a high, finishing tenth at the Macau Grand Prix.
GP3 Series
2016 In 2016, Maini raced for Jenzer Motorsport in the GP3 series, he finished the season in tenth position in the championship despite missing the first four races. He also became the first Indian to secure a podium in the GP3 series at Hungaroring, after finishing second. Maini also raced in the Macau GP for Team Motopark.
2017 Maini signed for Jenzer again in 2017, for his second stint in the GP3 Series. He scored two podiums, including a victory in the sprint race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and ended up 9th in the championship, two positions behind teammate Alessio Lorandi.
FIA Formula 2 Championship At the end of 2017, Maini took part in a post season test in Abu Dhabi with F2 teams Trident and Russian Time.
2018 Maini signed for Trident Racing in the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship, partnering with fellow Haas F1 Team development driver Santino Ferrucci.
While driving in a race at Circuit Paul Ricard, Maini said over the radio that the car lacked power and tearfully claimed people didn't believe him and didn't support him, and that Formula 2 was not providing good equipment."Maini: F2 "killing our careers" with new car issues", Motorsport.com"F2 France: Haas F1 junior driver Arjun Maini delivers foul-mouthed tirade on team radio", Fox Sports Australia The Trident team analyzed data and agreed and approached F2, and Maini was given a new engine shortly after."Haas F1 junior Arjun Maini gets new engine from Formula 2", Autosport.com
Later that season, teammate Ferrucci ran Maini off the track in a race at Silverstone Circuit and then crashed into the back of Maini's car later in the same race after the checkered flag had been waved, both of which were found to be deliberate actions, and Trident apologized to Maini. Ferrucci also "appeared to mock" Maini on Twitter over Maini's rant about the car's power."Trident apologises to Maini after team mate Ferrucci receives four-race ban"
Ferrucci was banned for several races and was fired by Trident shortly thereafter, due to these incidents and others."Trident F2 Shows Santino Ferrucci the Door for Ramming Teammate", The Drive"Trident F2 team ready to take action against dropped Ferrucci", Autosport
2019 Maini replaced Dorian Boccolacci at Campos Racing in the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship at Spielberg. He raced in six races, scoring no points, before being replaced by Marino Sato.
Formula One In May 2017, it was announced that the Haas F1 Team signed Maini as a development driver. He remained in his role throughout 2018.
Endurance racing Maini changed from single seaters to Endurance racing in the European Le Mans Series with RLR M SPORT. He also competed in the prestigious 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as competing in the Asian Le Mans Series where he won the first race at Shanghai International Circuit.
DTM
In 2021, Maini joined the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters driving for Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed. He picked up his first podium finish in the series at the Norisring. This was also the first podium finish by an Indian in the history of the series. He switched to Mercedes-AMG Haupt Racing Team for the 2022 season, achieving two fourth-place finishes. He stayed with the team for 2023.
Karting record
Karting career summary SeasonSeriesTeamPosition2010Rotax Max Challenge India — Junior2nd2011ROK Cup International Final — Junior ROK19thNational Rotax Max Championship India — Junior1stAsian Karting Open Championship — Formula 125 Junior Open8th2012Trofeo delle Industrie — KF3Baby RaceNCROK Cup International Final — Junior ROK5thCIK-FIA Academy Trophy38th2013WSK Super Master Series — KFJ41stAndrea Margutti Trophy — KFJ17th
Racing record
Racing career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 2013 AsiaCup Series Meritus.GP 12 0 ? 1 4 108 4th JK Racing India Series EuroInternational1224310198 2nd 2014 BRDC Formula 4 Championship Lanan Racing 24 4 0 6 9 480 2nd 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 33 0 0 0 0 27 18th Macau Grand Prix T-Sport 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 10th Toyota Racing Series M2 Competition 16 2 3 2 5 7324th 2016 GP3 Series Jenzer Motorsport 14 0 0 0 1 50 10th FIA Formula 3 European Championship Threebond with T-Sport 12 0 0 0 0 3 21st2017 GP3 Series Jenzer Motorsport 15 1 0 1 2 69 9th Formula One Haas F1 TeamDevelopment driver 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship Trident 23 0 0 0 0 24 16th Formula One Haas F1 TeamDevelopment driver 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship Campos Racing 6 0 0 0 0 0 24th European Le Mans Series - LMP2 RLR MSport 6 0 0 0 0 5.5 21st Macau Grand Prix Jenzer Motorsport10000N/A23rd24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2RLR M Sport/Tower Events10000N/ANC 2019–20 Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2 RLR MSport 2 1 1 2 1 26 5th 2020 European Le Mans Series - LMP2 Algarve Pro Racing 2 0 0 0 0 8 22nd 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Mercedes-AMG Team Getspeed 15 0 0 0 1 48 12th Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2 Racing Team India 4 0 0 0 0 42 6th 2022 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Mercedes-AMG Team HRT 15 0 0 0 0 24 19th Asian Le Mans Series - GT Bilstein Haupt Racing Team 4 0 0 0 0 16 9th GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Haupt Racing Team5000S0NC GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Gold0002565th Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP9100000NC† Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - V6Team Mathol Racing e.V.001000NC† Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - VT300000NC† 2023 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Mercedes-AMG Team HRT 16 0 0 0 0 30 20th Asian Le Mans Series - GT Haupt Racing Team40000615th GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup 5 0 0 0 0 0 NC GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Bronze Cup 1 0 0 3 89 2nd ADAC GT Masters401014113th Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP9300000NC† 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 Mercedes-AMG Team Bilstein by HRT10000N/A8th2024 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Mercedes-AMG Team HRT 16 0 1 0 3 139 7th GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Haupt Racing Team500000NC GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Gold Cup5100495 3rd Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP9 Mercedes-AMG Team Bilstein by HRT20000** Team ADVAN x HRT20011 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 Mercedes-AMG Team Bilstein by HRT10000N/A11th Intercontinental GT Challenge100001218th Haupt Racing Team10000 Triple Eight JMR10000 GT World Challenge America - Pro-Am Triple Eight JMR100000NC†2025 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters HRT Ford Performance 16 0 0 0 0 62 15th Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP9000000NC 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP910000N/ADNF GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup50000820th2026Deutsche Tourenwagen MastersHRT Ford Racing 14 0 1 1 1 117 8th*Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP9 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNFGT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup 2026–27 Asian Le Mans Series - GT Haupt Racing Team
Complete BRDC Formula 4 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DC Points 2014 Lanan Racing SIL11 SIL12 SIL13 BRH11 BRH12 BRH13 SNE11 SNE12 SNE13 OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 SIL21 SIL22 SIL23 BRH21 BRH22 BRH23 DON1 DON2 DON3 SNE21 SNE22 SNE23 2nd 480
Complete Toyota Racing Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC Points 2015 M2 Competition RUA1 RUA2 RUA3 TER1 TER2 TER3 HMP1 HMP2 HMP3 TAU1 TAU2 TAU3 TAU4 MAN1 MAN2 MAN3 4th 750
Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)