Mumbai: India’s top racer and current F2 driver Kush Maini tested for the BWT Alpine F1 team in the Red Bull Ring, at Spielberg in Austria, making it a watershed moment for Indian motorsport. Maini became the fourth Indian to successfully test a Formula 1 car joining the likes of Narine Karthikeyan and Karun Chandok, who raced in F1.
The test gains greater significance with the Alpine F1 team recently announcing that their driver Esteban Ocon will be leaving after the end of the current season. It’s a major step for Maini in his ambitions to become an F1 driver.
Maini drove BWT Alpine’s A522 Car and clocked more than 500 kilometers in it. He did more than 110 Laps of the Red Bull Ring.
Speaking on the occasion, Kush Maini said, “My first full day in a Formula 1 car is complete in Spielberg. To drive an F1 car is a childhood dream come true for me. It brings me one step closer to being a Formula 1 driver. The BWT Alpine F1 team has backed me from the beginning and I am grateful for this opportunity. We’d set certain targets and I am glad that we remain on track to achieve them.”
“The Race Support Team did an incredible job to get me up to speed quickly and have the test run as smoothly as possible, their hard work and effort do not go unnoticed, so a big thank you to them. We completed our run plan successfully and we were able to tick everything off our checklist which made for an incredible test. I cannot wait for the next one,” added Kush.
In a major boost for Maini, two-time World Champion Mika Haikkenen too backed the Indian for an F1 seat, “Kush has had a successful first test with Alpine. He’s also had a very good start to his season in Formula 2. He’s growing with confidence as the season goes by. I believe he’s ready for Formula 1, should the right opportunity arise.”
The two-day test, held in Spielberg, Austria, the home of the Austrian Grand Prix, saw the young driver complete one day in the A522, BWT Alpine F1 Team’s 2022 car.
Kush Maini drove the A522 on Wednesday (June 5).
Fans can currently watch Kush Maini in action in Formula 2 on FanCode. Maini is currently part of the Invicta racing team in F2.
(IANS)
