2021 F2: Daruvala scores podium finish in Azerbaijan

Jehan Daruvala enjoyed a fairly competitive Round 3 of the 2021 Formula 2 championship in Azerbaijan. The Indian F1 hopeful added 24 more points to his tally, along with another podium finish. Read on to find out how the three races at Baku played out for him.

• Daruvala 7^th overall with 53 points
• Secures two top five finishes at Baku

Daruvala 3^rd in Azerbaijan Sprint Race 2

After a disappointing run at Monaco, where he slipped from 3^rd to 8^th in the overall rankings, Daruvala was back in form at Baku. He started the first sprint race from 2^nd place, but lost a couple of places to Carlin teammate Dan Ticktum and UNI-Virtuosi’s Guanyu Zhou as the race carried on.  Despite late pressure from Theo Pourchaire, he held on to 4^th place. While it wasn’t a podium finish, it was some key points in the bag.

And he didn’t have to wait too long to secure his second podium finish of the year either. Just hours later, the second sprint race saw him fight from 7^th to 3^rd. The frantic race saw multiple safety car periods, which played into Daruvala’s favour.

Already up to 4^th place after a strong start, Daruvala then passed Bent Viscaal at the second safety car re-start to move up to 3^rd place. While he continued to keep 2^nd-placed David Beckmann within sight throughout the race, he also had to fend off pressure from Viscaal. A controlled drive saw him cross the line in 3^rd place to secure the final podium sport behind race winner Jüri Vips and Beckmann.

The final feature race saw him finish 7^th. Despite gaining some positions at the start, he struggled to switch on the medium tyres after his pit stop. Nevertheless, the Red Bull junior is celebrating “a good haul of points this weekend”.

2021 F2 championship standings

Despite only scoring points in one race this weekend, Zhou continues to lead the championship with a total of 78 points. Oscar Piastri is five points adrift at 73. Meanwhile, Daruvala gains a place, climbing to 7^th overall with 53 points, just two points behind Pourchaire.

F2 will now return next month, with the Silverstone GP running from July 16-18.

F2 Azerbaijan GP results

Sprint Race 1
Pos	Driver	Team	Laps	Time
1	Robert Schwartzman	Prema Racing	21	44:35.734
2	Dan Ticktum	Carlin Racing	21	+ 5.144
3	Guanyu Zhou	UNI-Virtuosi	21	+ 8.872
4	Jehan Daruvala	Carlin Racing	21	+ 10.352
5	Theo Pourchaire	ART Grand Prix	21	+ 11.039
6	Ralph Boschung	Campos Racing	21	+13.124
7	Marcus Armstrong	DAMS	21	+14.455
8	Juri Vips	Hitech GP	21	+14.524
9	David Beckmann	Carouz Racing system	21	+17.299
10	Bent Viscaal	Trident	21	+17.764
11	Christian Lundgaard	ART Grand Prix	21	+19.738
12	Richard Verschoor	MP Motorsport	21	+21.064
13	Lirim Zendeli	MP Motorsport	21	+21.837
14	Felipe Drugovich	UNI-Virtuosi	21	+25.849
15	Matteo Nannini	Campos Racing	21	+35.970
16	Roy Nissany	DAMS	21	+42.471
17	Guilherme Samaia	Carouz Racing system	21	+49.289
18	Marino Sato	Trident	21	+91.300

Sprint Race 2
Pos	Driver	Team	Laps	Gap
1	Juri Vips	Hitech GP	21	46:05.704
2	David Beckmann	Carouz Racing system	21	+ 3.260
3	Jehan Daruvala	Carlin Racing	21	+ 3.883
4	Bent Viscaal	Trident	21	+ 4.644
5	Robert Schwartzman	Prema Racing	21	+ 5.002
6	Dan Ticktum	Carlin Racing	21	+ 6.213
7	Liam Lawson	Hitech GP	21	+ 6.751
8	Oscar Piastri	Prema Racing	21	+ 9.138
9	Theo Pourchaire	ART Grand Prix	21	+ 13.315
10	Felipe Drugovich	UNI-Virtuosi	21	+ 15.473
11	Matteo Nannini	Campos Racing	21	+ 17.975
12	Jack Aitken	HWA Racelab	21	+ 22.828
13	Marino Sato	Trident	21	+ 25.675
14	Guilherme Samaia	Carouz Racing system	21	+ 49.981
15	Alessio Deledda	HWA Racelab	21	+ 52.037
16	Roy Nissany	DAMS	21	+ 91.818

Feature race
Pos	Driver	Team	Laps	Gap
1	Juri Vips	Hitech GP	28	57:08.634
2	Oscar Piastri	Prema Racing	28	+ 6.152
3	Robert Shwartzman	Prema Racing	28	+ 12.623
4	Felipe Drugovich	UNI-Virtuosi	28	+ 22.400
5	Ralph Boschung	Campos Racing	28	+ 24.418
6	Liam Lawson	Hitech GP	28	+ 26.207
7	Jehan Daruvala	Carlin Racing	28	+ 28.081
8	Dan Ticktum	Carlin Racing	28	+ 29.801
9	Christian Lundgaard	ART Grand Prix	28	+ 34.058
10	Lirim Zendeli	MP Motorsport	28	+ 36.167
11	Jack Aitken	HWA Racelab	28	+ 36.993
12	David Beckmann	Carouz Racing system	28	+ 39.973
13	Guanyu Zhou	UNI-Virtuosi	28	+47.934
14	Richard Verschoor	MP Motorsport	28	+ 48.794
15	Marino Sato	Trident	28	+ 55.485
16	Roy Nissany	DAMS	28	+ 55.825
17	Bent Viscaal	Trident	28	+ 56.970
18	Guilherme Samaia	Carouz Racing system	27	+ 1 lap
19	Alessio Deledda	HWA Racelab	27	+ 1 lap

Also see:

2021 F2: Jehan Daruvala off to a strong start in Bahrain