Jehan Daruvala (Marathi pronunciation: [d͡ʒeˈɦɑn daːruːvaːlaː]; born 1 October 1998) is an Indian racing driver who last raced in the Formula E for Maserati MSG Racing. He was a protégé of the Force India F1 team, after being one of three winners of a 'One in a Billion hunt' organized by the team in 2011. He is also a former member of the Red Bull Junior Team.
Early life
Daruvala was born in Mumbai to Khurshed and Kainaz Daruvala, a Parsi family. He studied at Bombay Scottish School, Mahim. His father Khurshed is the current chairman of Sterling & Wilson, an associate company of Shapoorji Pallonji.
Junior racing career Karting Jehan Daruvala was born on 1 October 1998 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. He started karting in 2011 at the age of 13, competing in various championships across Asia and Europe. He won the Asia-Pacific Championship in 2012 and the Super 1 National Championship in 2013, while also finishing runner-up in multiple series. He further established his credentials by finishing third in the Karting World Championship in 2014. During his early career, Daruvala was coached by Rayomand Banajee, who played an instrumental role in developing his foundational skills.
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 2015
Daruvala stepped up to single-seaters in 2015, joining Fortec Motorsport in the Formula Renault 2.0 championships. He achieved three podiums and consistent points-scoring results to place fifth in the Northern European Cup standings. In addition, he made appearances as a guest driver in both the Eurocup and Alps series.
2016
For 2016, Daruvala switched to reigning champions Josef Kaufmann Racing, partnering Lando Norris and Robert Shwartzman. He secured pole position at the opening round in Monza, and managed a podium in the second race. He claimed his maiden Formula Renault win at the Hungaroring, going on to finish fourth in the Northern European Cup standings after collecting three more podiums.
In the Eurocup, Daruvala scored an early podium in Aragón but was unable to replicate that result consistently, ultimately finishing ninth in the standings.
Toyota Racing Series Prior to his 2016 European campaign, Daruvala competed in the Toyota Racing Series. He claimed three victories and a further three podiums to finish runner-up in the championship behind Lando Norris.
He returned to the series in 2017, securing two wins–including the prestigious New Zealand Grand Prix–and recording the highest number of pole positions that season. Despite his strong qualifying form, a more competitive championship left him fifth in the overall championship.
Formula 3 (2017–2019) 2016 In 2016, Daruvala won the Lady Wigram Trophy, a Formula Three race which he would also win the next year.
2017
In November 2016, Daruvala announced his switch to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship for the 2017, joining Carlin the following month. He made an immediate impact in Monza, taking his maiden pole position and converting it into second place after leading much of the race. He added another podium at the Hungaroring before claiming his first victory at the Norisring, passing polesitter Maximilian Günther at the start. Daruvala finished sixth in the championship and also competed in the Macau Grand Prix, finishing tenth after starting 16th.
2018 Daruvala remained with Carlin for the 2018 season. He opened his campaign with a third-place at Pau and later secured his sole win of the year in Spa-Francorchamps, where he took pole position and fastest lap. Despite recording five podiums across the season, inconsistent results hindered his overall standing, and he finished tenth in the championship. He returned to the Macau Grand Prix, finishing twelfth from seventeenth.
Daruvala also made a one-off appearance in the Yas Marina GP3 finale, with MP Motorsport in place of Niko Kari, finishing nineteenth and thirteenth in the races.
2019
In 2019, Daruvala continued in Formula 3 for a third consecutive year, competing in the inaugural FIA Formula 3 season with Prema Racing, partnering Robert Shwartzman and Marcus Armstrong. He enjoyed a strong start to the season, taking his maiden win in the Barcelona sprint race after overtaking Niko Kari at the start. He followed this with a second consecutive win in Paul Ricard, recovering from a slow launch from the front row to pass Jake Hughes for the lead. A third-place finish in the reverse-grid race capped off a run of three podiums in four races.
Daruvala remained competitive in the subsequent rounds, finishing fourth in the Red Bull Ring feature race, before inheriting second in the sprint race after his teammates collided ahead. In Silverstone, he secured another podium with second place in the feature race, though his momentum was interrupted in the reverse-grid race after a collision with Pedro Piquet eliminated both drivers. A difficult qualifying session in Daruvala had his worst qualifying of the year in Hungary left him outside the points for the first time that season. He regrouped in Spa-Francorchamps by claiming his maiden pole position. converting it into third place in the feature race, followed by fifth in the sprint.
In Monza, despite grid penalties for impeding, he recovered to finish third in the feature race. At the Sochi finale, Daruvala qualified on the front row but lost positions at the start, ultimately finishing fifth following a post-race penalty for another driver. He stalled on the formation lap of the sprint race and recovered to fourteenth. Daruvala concluded the season third in the championship, scoring seven podiums including two wins, along with one pole position and two fastest laps. Daruvala was scheduled to compete in the Macau Grand Prix but withdrew due to injury, with Frederik Vesti replacing him.
FIA Formula 2 Championship 2020 In February 2020, Daruvala rejoined Carlin for the FIA Formula 2 Championship, partnering Red Bull Junior Yuki Tsunoda. He was simultaneously inducted into the Red Bull Junior Team, with aspirations of progressing to Formula One in . Following a delayed start to the season, Daruvala made his debut at the Red Bull Ring, qualifying sixth. However, a poor start and a collision with Tsunoda dropped him out of contention in the feature race, and he finished thirteenth, before placing sixteenth in the sprint. Daruvala's hope of points were over following a poor start, before being tipped into a spin by Tsunoda. A similarly challenging round at the same circuit saw him qualify seventh but slip to twelfth in the feature race, while he narrowly missed out on points in the sprint.
Daruvala's breakthrough came in Hungaroring, where he qualified sixteenth but executed an alternate strategy in the feature race, climbing through the field to finish sixth and score his maiden Formula 2 points. He followed this with another sixth place finish in the sprint race, marking his first double points finish. In Silverstone, he continued to qualify consistently inside the top ten, though race starts hindered his results; he recovered to fifth in the sprint race after pitting under the safety car. A more difficult second Silverstone round and a non-scoring weekend in Barcelona stalled his momentum. A string of challenging rounds followed. In Spa-Francorchamps, early contact in the feature forced him into an unscheduled pit stop, resulting in a nineteenth-place finish. He returned to the points in Monza, utilising an alternate strategy to finish tenth in the feature race, before placing sixth in the sprint. In Mugello, another slow start compromised his feature race, though he again salvaged points with sixth in the sprint.
Daruvala achieved his strongest qualifying performance of the season in Sochi, lining up second alongside Tsunoda on the front row. He then finished fifth in the feature race but dropped out of the points in the sprint following a time penalty. In Bahrain, he converted a strong start into contention and, after an effective undercut strategy, secured his maiden podium with third place in the feature race. However, his sprint race ended prematurely following contact with Callum Ilott. During the second Bahrain round, Daruvala qualified third and finished seventh in the feature race. In the sprint, Daruvala overtook Dan Ticktum late on to secure his maiden Formula 2 victory. He concluded the season twelfth in the drivers' standings with 72 points, significantly behind Tsunoda, who finished third and was promoted to Formula One.
2021
Prior to his main campaign, Daruvala competed in the F3 Asian Championship with Mumbai Falcons, where he secured three victories and eight podiums to finish third in the championship behind Pierre-Louis Chovet and champion Guanyu Zhou.
Daruvala continued in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for 2021 with Carlin alongside Dan Ticktum. He began the season strongly in Bahrain, finishing second in the opening after passing David Beckmann and capitalising on Théo Pourchaire's retirement, though he was unable to challenge race winner Liam Lawson. He added a fourth place in the second sprint and sixth in the feature race. A difficult weekend followed in Monaco. Daruvala narrowly missed out on reverse pole for the second sprint after being overtaken on the final lap of the opening race, and despite being promoted into the points in the second sprint following a disqualification ahead, he retired from the feature race after contact with Gianluca Petecof.
In Baku, Daruvala returned to form with a podium in the second sprint race, overtaking Bent Viscaal after a safety car restart to finish third, having finished fourth in the earlier sprint. He added further points in the feature race. However, his momentum stalled at Silverstone, where contact with Viscaal in the second sprint resulted in a time penalty, and he could only manage tenth in the feature race. Daruvala delivered a breakthrough performance in Monza, qualifying on the front row. After placing outside the points in the opening sprint, he started second in the reverse-grid race and took the lead at the start, controlling the race to secure his first victory of the season. He followed this with a fifth place finish in the feature race, despite a poor start. In Sochi, he again qualified second. After a spin in the sprint race dropped him out of the points, he recovered to finish third in the feature race.
In Jeddah, Daruvala qualified outside the top ten and endured a difficult weekend, where penalties in both sprint races dropping him out of contention and leaving him without points. This included a penalty in the second sprint for an off-track pass on Oscar Piastri, which demoted him from second place. He rebounded at the Yas Marina finale, starting from reverse pole in the opening sprint and converting it into his second victory of the season after holding off sustained pressure from Felipe Drugovich. He added a further fifth place finish in the second sprint, while he failed to score points in the feature race. Daruvala finished seventh in the standings championship with 113 points, scoring two victories, five podiums and a fastest lap, though he was outscored by teammate Ticktum.
2022
In January 2022, Daruvala reunited with reigning champions Prema Powerteam for the 2022 season, partnering fellow Red Bull Junior Team member and 2021 FIA Formula 3 champion Dennis Hauger. Although initially expected to be his final season in the category, Daruvala would ultimately remain for another year. Daruvala qualified seventh at the season-opening Bahrain round and finished second in the sprint race after passing Ralph Boschung in the closing stages. His feature race was compromised by contact and a front wing change, dropping him to fourteenth. In Jeddah, he recovered from a lowly qualifying position to finish seventh in the sprint following post-race penalties, while an early pit stop allowed him to gain track position and secure third in the feature race.