Red Bull junior Jehan Daruvala has secured his first-ever F1 test with McLaren, which will take place at Silverstone this week.
Despite being part of the Red Bull family, Daruvala will test with McLaren this week on June 21 and 22 at Silverstone circuit as part of the F1 team’s ‘Testing Previous Car’ programme. This will be the Indian driver’s first time in a Formula 1 car.
He will drive the 2021 McLaren – the MCL35M – with the aim to not impress McLaren, but other F1 outfits amid his seemingly final season in F2 where he sits third in the standings. McLaren had previously announced Colton Herta as one of the drivers to test too.
“Jehan has been the leading figure in Indian motorsport for the past 10 years and is just one step away from every Indian’s dream of having a competitive Indian driver in Formula 1,” said a spokesperson from Mumbai Falcons, who are supporting his drive. “Our mission at Mumbai Falcons is to showcase the best of Indian motorsport talent to the world.
“We are proud supporters of Jehan’s 2022 Formula 2 title bid and are just as excited about the testing opportunity being given to him by McLaren. This is a huge moment for Indian motorsport fans and of course for Jehan himself as working with a prestigious team like McLaren will help him take the next step in his development towards becoming only the 3rd Indian to compete in Formula 1.”
Meanwhile, Daruvala added: “I’m incredibly grateful to be getting this opportunity. Testing in Formula 1 is extremely limited and opportunities like these are not easy to come by, especially with a championship-winning team like McLaren. It will be my first experience in a Formula 1 car, which I’m sure will be special.
“The support that I have received from the Red Bull Junior Team, my family and sponsors like Mumbai Falcons, coupled with this opportunity that McLaren have given me will enable me to prepare myself better to achieve my childhood dream of competing in Formula 1.”
Daruvala is the fourth from India to drive a F1 car in recent time with the likes of Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok at the forefront of it. While these two got to compete in the sport, recently Mahaveer Raghunathan got to test with Alfa Romeo.
