It was yet another victory for team Sahara Force India Academy as Indian racing driver Jehan Daruvala managed to secure double podium finishes in Round 5 of the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC Series in the Netherlands, amidst a 1,00,000 strong crowd. The double podium has helped the young Indian driver finish fourth in the championship standings. Jehan fell from the championship lead after losing in Round 4 in Belgium, when he was hit by another driver.
Jehan Daruvala Renault NEC Series at Assen
Daruvala claimed the third position in both races at Assen, but was the fastest in the first practice session of the weekend amidst a total of 25 racers. The second practice session saw Jehan become the third fastest driver on track after Belgian driver Max Defourny and British driver Lando Norris.
Qualifying for Race 1 was extremely close, with Lando Norris earning pole position with a lap time of 1:34.684. Jehan was a mere two hundredths of a second behind while Max Deformed was another minuscule nine thousandths of a second behind Jehan. Qualifying for Race 2 saw Lando and Jehan lock out in the first row, in the same order as Qualifying 1, while Dorian Boccolacci claimed third on the grid.
Race 1 started for a Jehan with a bit of wheel spin that wasn't the best start and pushed him to the third position. Jehan then tried to reclaim his position back at turn 3, but he was not able to make the move stick, allowing Defourny to pass him. Portuguese racer Henrique Chaves moved into Jehan's inside, leading into the two racers making contact and pushed the Indian driver further behind. The positions remained the same for another 7 laps as Jehan closed the gap in front. He then a made a good move on Defourny, claim back to third and held on to the position until the chequered flag. Lando Norris won the race ahead of Boccolacci.
Jehan Daruvala secured the third position in both Race 1 and 2
Jehan started second on the grid in Race 2 and maintained his position behind Lando with the two racers looking comfortable at the top. Jehan however, suddenly seemed to lose slightly over half a second a lap. Max Defourny immediately caught and passed Jehan and a few laps later even managed to pass Jehan's teammate Lando, who also had a sudden drop in pace. Jehan's drop gave a chance to French drivers Boccolacci and Fenestraz to gain momentum, but the Sahara Force India driver took a defensive route holding on to the third position. Race 2 saw Defourny take the pole comfortably followed by Lando, while Jehan finished third.
Speaking on his double win, Jehan said, "I am happy with my pace in qualifying. We need to work a bit on our race pace. Over the last few weekends, we have been struggling with the tyres going off during the race, but I am confident we will find a solution for this."
Jehan will be racing in 3 weeks in the Formula Renault 2.0 Euro Cup series.
