Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Kush Maini

  • Alpine announce Kush Maini as Test and Reserve Driver

    Alpine Academy driver, Kush Maini will expand his role with the team in 2025 by becoming Test and Reserve Driver, with the Indian racer set to take on the additional duties alongside competing in Formula 2 with DAMS.

    Maini first joined the Alpine Academy in October 2023 before going on to race in the 2024 F2 season, during which he scored five podiums including a race win in Budapest.

    As he enters into his third Formula 2 campaign, Maini will also take on the position of Test and Reserve Driver for the Alpine F1 Team.

    As part of his role, the 24 year old will use the driver-in-loop simulator at the squad’s Enstone base to support their car development and set up objectives as well as participating in the TPC programme (Testing of Previous Cars) to continue to improve his skills.

    Maini joins a pool of reserve drivers at Alpine that also includes Paul Aron, Ryo Hirakawa and former Williams super-sub Franco Colapinto.

    I am delighted to step up to the role of Test and Reserve Driver for BWT Alpine Formula 1 Team this season. Since joining the Alpine Academy ahead of last year, I have been incredibly welcomed in the entire Alpine family and I am thankful to Flavio [Briatore] and Oliver [Oakes] for their continued support. I am looking forward to getting more track time in Formula 1 machinery in this role and to build on what I have already learned with the team in 2024. I’m very excited to begin the role as soon as possible but for now my focus is on my third season in Formula 2 kicking off this weekend in Australia.
    Maini on the news.

    We are very happy to announce the expansion of Kush’s role in the Alpine Academy to include Test and Reserve Driver duties for the team this season. Kush has impressed the team across his TPC performances and Formula 2 results whilst we have been working with him and we expect he will continue to do so in 2025. His wider role allows us to further expand our pool of driving talent who can provide support and resources to the whole team during the busy season.
    Julian Rouse, Alpine Academy Director.

  • Maini announced for rookie free practice

    Mahindra has announced Indian driver Kush Maini for the Rookie Free Practice in Jeddah on 13th February.

    The 24 year old, served as the team’s official reserve driver during Season 10, getting his first taste of action behind the wheel in the FIA’s all-electric series in May at the annual Berlin Rookie Test.

    In parallel, Maini also impressed in FIA Formula 2, claiming victory plus four further podiums in his sophomore season, and will also be returning again this season for a title fight.

    Mahindra Racing have enjoyed a strong start to Season 11, making the qualifying duels and scoring points at both rounds in Sao Paulo and Mexico City.
    The team currently sit fifth in the standings heading to Saudi Arabia next week with 22 points already – almost half the team’s total from last season.

    I’m excited to be back with Mahindra Racing for the Rookie Practice in Jeddah this month. I was very impressed with my first experience of Formula E in Berlin last season, and the new GEN3 Evo car is clearly another step up from that. I’ve been watching closely across the first two races this season and can’t wait to get behind the wheel for myself. The team has had a very strong start to the season, with a lot of the hard work from last year coming to fruition. It’ll be great to be back in that environment, and I’m sure with Mahindra’s ongoing support, we can have a productive session and build on the learnings from last year.
    Maini on the news.

    Kush impressed everybody at the team in his role as our Reserve Driver last season, and it was a no-brainer to continue that relationship for the Rookie Practice in Jeddah. We’ve made a strong start to the season with our new car, but it’s important we make use of all the track time available to us to keep progressing. Kush’s work ethic, diligence and skill make him the perfect choice to slot into the team for the session, especially on what will be a new circuit for all the teams.
    Frederic Bertrand, Mahindra Racing CEO and Team Principal.

  • Maini switches to DAMS

    DAMS Lucas Oil have confirmed that Kush Maini will be driving for them in the 2025 Formula 2 season, completing their lineup for next having already announced the retention of Jak Crawford.

    Maini will be returning for a third season of F2 after achieving six podiums across his first two campaigns including a victory in the 2024 Budapest Sprint Race.

    Prior to Formula 2, he competed in Formula 3 in 2022, where he finished 14th overall. Not only this but he became reserve driver for Mahindra Racing in Formula E for Season 10 where he also took part in the Berlin rookie test too.

    I’m thrilled to be joining a team with such a strong pedigree and history in Formula 2 like DAMS Lucas Oil. I feel like my story in this championship isn’t completed yet, and I know that this is the right crew to help me further my career. I’ve taken pole positions and won races, so now it’s all about consistently delivering over the course of a campaign. I can’t wait to get started this week with post-season testing alongside Jak, and to form an experienced team as we look to battle for the championship in 2025.
    Maini on the news.

    We’re pleased to confirm Kush for next year as he’s a talented driver who has shown excellent raw speed throughout his time in the series. We know that together with our experienced team we can find the correct balance and ensure Kush has a consistent level of performance. We believe with Jak and Kush that we have a very strong partnership, which can help us to consistently fight at the front of the grid in 2025.
    Charles Pic, Team Owner.

  • Vesti to line-up for Mahindra at Berlin Rookie Test

    Mahindra Racing will field Frederik Vesti in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship’s upcoming Berlin Rookie Test on 13th May.

    The Dane is among the standout talents to emerge from the FIA’s single-seater pathway in recent times, where he has grabbed an impressive 37 race victories and 81 podium finishes across stints in Formula 4, Formula Regional, FIA Formula 3 and FIA Formula 2.

    The 22 year old from Langelund narrowly finished runner-up in Formula 2 last season where he scored an impressive six victories and 10 podiums.

    Since departing Formula 2, Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team Reserve Driver Vesti has been a pillar of the team’s simulator programme, and concentrated his racing efforts on sportscars in the European Le Mans Series but will get his first experience of the Gen3 with Mahindra Racing in Berlin.

    Lining up alongside one of Formula 2’s current leading lights and of Mahindra’s current Reserve Drivers, Kush Maini.

    In preparation, he has already visited Mahindra’s purpose-built factory in Banbury for a seat fit, and to begin building up his knowledge and understanding the car on the team’s simulator.

    First of all, I’d like to say a big thank you to Fred for giving me this opportunity. It’s a great chance to test, and to prove myself as a rookie in a new championship. It’s an amazing opportunity to learn, which is only going to help me grow as a driver. It’s what motivates me, I’m really looking forward to trying the GEN3 Formula E car, which I understand is quite a challenge. That’s probably what I like most about Formula E, it is challenging and the fact it’s a competitive World Championship that attracts some of the best drivers – and teams – is a great platform for me. I’ve finished up my preparations together with the team, so now I’m counting down the days until Berlin!
    Vesti on the news.

    We’re delighted to welcome Frederik to the team for the Berlin Rookie Test. This event is important for the team, in order to continue our testing programme and development work, but there is an equal focus on giving new talent the opportunity to experience the world of Formula E. He’s young, enthusiastic, and very quick – all the right traits for us to give him a chance in the car. His record in the junior categories speaks for itself. I’m confident that, with a drivers of Frederik’s abilities and experience, and together with Kush, we will be able to have a productive test and keep the team moving forward from there.
    Frederic Bertrand, Mahindra Racing CEO and Team Principal.

  • Invicta Virtuosi announce drivers for 2024

    Invicta Virtuosi Racing have confirmed their line-up for the 2024 Formula 2 season with Alpine junior Kush Maini and 2023 Formula 3 Champion, Gabriel Bortoleto joining the team.

    The Indian driver competed this year with Campos Racing in what was his rookie campaign. He achieved 12 points finishes and a podium in the Melbourne Sprint Race during an impressive season.

    Starting out in single seaters in Italian F4 in 2016, Maini claimed podium finishes in the series before moving up to British F3 where he finished third and second overall in 2018 and 2020 respectively.
    He moved up to F3 in 2022 and finished 14th before graduating to Formula 2 this year and impressing in his first full season.

    Bortoleto became the first Brazilian to win the F3 title, where he took two feature race wins and a further four podiums en route to the Championship.
    He failed to score on just three occasions during the ’23 season, achieving an unmatched level of consistency with 15 scoring results from a possible 18.

    Prior to winning the F3 title, the 19 year old achieved wins in Italian F4 and Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine between 2020 and 2022 before his move to F3.

    I am very excited to announce that in the 2024 season, I will be competing with Invicta Virtuosi Racing in FIA Formula 2. They have a winning history, having secured the runner-up position in the team championship three times, and together, our goal will be to aim for the best positions for the team. In 2023, they achieved pole positions and victories, and I hope to build a strong and consistent story with them throughout the year. We will have a new car in the championship, and our first challenge will be to adapt quickly and efficiently to start the year on a high note. I am coming from a season of significant personal growth, culminating in the FIA F3 title. I hope to continue this process of evolution as a driver in 2024 and naturally become a victorious driver in the next stages of my career.

    Bortoleto on moving up.

    I’m super excited and grateful to be joining Invicta Virtuosi Racing for the 2024 FIA Formula 2 championship. They have a great pedigree in Formula 2 and, prior to that, in GP2, and I am looking forward to growing further as a racing driver with the team. A massive thank you to Invicta Virtuosi for putting their trust in me and to the Alpine Academy and my management team for their support. I’ll do my best to hopefully bring many trophies back to the workshop.

    Maini on the switch.

    We’re delighted to have Gabriel Bortoleto joining us for his debut season in Formula 2. His consistency throughout his rookie campaign in Formula 3 impressed everyone and earned him a convincing and thoroughly deserved championship victory. This was acknowledged by the world of F1 as he became a McLaren Development Driver. Gabriel has visited us at our base in Norfolk and kept in touch since his signing. He’s left a good impression on everyone here and has quickly become part of the team. We were impressed by his adaptation to Formula 3 and, like everyone, are excited to see what he can do in 2024 as he continues to hone and add to his already admirable skillset. Kush has had a solid debut season in Formula 2. He got up to speed immediately and was able to produce good results in 2023. We’ve already spent considerable time with Kush since he first signed for the team and his mentality and approach align well with ours. He has shown dedication and an impressive work effort, and we look forward to helping him add to his F2 podium tally as he continues to improve as a racing driver. He joins Gabriel Bortoleto at the team for 2024, and we are expecting to achieve big things with such a strong duo at the wheel.

    Team Principal, Andy Roche.

  • Mahindra sign Kush Maini as Reserve Driver

    Mahindra Racing has signed Indian driver Kush Maini as a reserve driver for Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

    The 23 year old from Bangalore joins the team after an impressive rise through the FIA single-seater pathway over the past seven years.

    He started in Italian F4 back in 2016, where he subsequently enjoyed success in British Formula 3, the Formula Renault Eurocup, FIA Formula 3 and at present, competes in FIA Formula 2 and scored his first podium in Melbourne, Australia this year.

    Maini, a protege of two-time Formula 1 champion Mika Hakkinen will work closely with Edoardo Mortara and Nyck de Vries and closely in conjunction with fellow reserve driver, Jordan King.
    His role will involve simulator sessions, attendance at selected at selected E-Prix to support the team, and possible opportunities to test the team’s M10Electro race car in the future.

    It’s a huge honour to be joining Mahindra Racing, being an Indian driver, and the team being Indian, it feels in many ways like coming home. A lot of my work will be concentrated on the simulator, and hopefully getting in the car for the Rookie Test. I’m just going to try and learn as much as I can, it’s a different style of racing. I’ll be doing as much work as possible on the sim with the engineers to try and be helpful for both Edoardo and Nyck, and to try and help push the team forward on-track. Mahindra is a huge manufacturer, so for me, it’s a massive deal to be signing with them. Being an Indian brand, it’s the cherry on top of the cake. I’m super excited to get started.

    Maini on the news.

    We are excited to welcome Kush to Mahindra Racing as a Reserve Driver. He has a great record that speaks for itself in the junior formulae and is an exciting talent to add to our driver lineup. We are a very future-focussed team, so the opportunity to support new and emerging talent, such as Kush, is one we are naturally keen to explore. We’ve been watching him in FIA Formula 2 this season, and believe he has all the key skills and attributes to help Mahindra Racing push on for greater success in the future. His synergy with Edoardo, Nyck and Jordan will play an important role in the team’s continued push for better performance on-track, and off-track he is a superb ambassador for India within motorsport.

    Mahindra Racing CEO, Fred Bertrand.

  • Alpine sign Kush Maini to Academy programme

    Alpine have announced that Formula 2 rookie, Kush Maini has become the latest addition to the team’s growing young driver programme.

    Maini is about to complete his first full season in Formula 2 with Campos Racing, where the Indian driver is sitting 11th in the drivers’ standings.
    He secured his first F2 podium with a third-place finish in the Sprint Race in Australia, as well as his best qualifying result of second at Silverstone.

    He will now benefit from the guidance and support of both the Academy’s fleet of staff and the wider Alpine F1 team, as well as access to their state-of-the-art facilities at their Formula 1 base in Enstone.

    The 23 year old joins an Academy line-up that currently features F2 rivals Jack Doohan – who is currently Alpine’s reserve driver – and Victor Martins, and has a host of successful F1 graduates in Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

    I am super excited to be joining the Alpine Academy. It’s a dream come true to be associated with a team like BWT Alpine F1 Team, where I can learn and grow to hopefully one day be ready to take the step into Formula 1. A massive thank you to Alpine for believing in me and giving me this opportunity.

    Maini on the opportunity.

    We are happy to welcome Kush into the Alpine Academy. He is a young talent who we believe has strong potential and will be a great asset to our driver development programme. The Alpine Academy will enter its ninth year in 2024 and currently features nine drivers of eight nationalities, spanning four different series from FIA Formula 2 through to European Karting. The continual expansion of the Academy’s talent pool runs in parallel to the expansion of our facilities at Enstone with the development of our new state-of-the-art training and testing facilities, the AHPC, underway.

    Julian Rouse, Alpine F1 Team Interim Sporting Director.

  • Maini completes Campos line-up

    Kush Maini will be joining Campos Racing for next year’s FIA Formula 2 campaign the team has confirmed. With the 22 year old will be partnering Ralph Boschung, having been confirmed earlier this month.

    The Indian driver made his single-seater debut back in 2016 in the Italian F4 Championship. He subsequently graduated through British Formula 3, Formula Renault Eurocup and eventually FIA Formula 3.

    Maini moves up to F2 after finishing this years F3 season 14th in the Drivers Championship, having recorded a best finish of third with that result coming in the Budapest Sprint Race.

    On behalf of Campos Racing, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Kush. He is a very committed, professional racing driver with a great work capacity, so we expect he will be able to complete a strong rookie season next year. He carried out some strong performances in FIA Formula 3 this season and hopefully he will make further improvements in the ultra-competitive FIA F2 Championship.

    Team Principal, Adrian Campos.

    Super happy to be joining Campos Racing team! I’ve spent some time with the team at their workshop and really enjoyed the atmosphere and the professionalism, looking forward to the three-day test at Abu Dhabi to officially start our relationship together! I would like to thank Mumbai Falcons, Omega Seiki Mobility and JK Racing for all their support

    Kush Maini.

  • Maini completes MP’s line-up

    Kush Maini completes MP Motorsport’s line-up for 2022, in which the rookie will line up with Caio Collet and Alex Smolyar.

    Maini began his single-seater career in 2016 racing in Italian Formula 4, he then continued to race in the series in 2017 where he finished eight overall.

    He switched to BRDC British Formula 3 in 2018, where he placed third with eight podiums and a win, before he stepped up to Formula Renault Eurocup, ending the year in sixth. Maini, then returned to BRDC British F3 in 2020 where he finished as vice-champion with 12 podiums and 3 wins.

    In 2021, the 21 year old began in Asian F3, partnering F2 racer Jehan Daruvala at Mumbai Falcons, he also made his FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP2 debut last season competing in 6 hours of Bahrain.

    “I’m excited to join MP Motorsport for my first year in FIA F3”, said Maini. “In 2021, MP proved to be race winners and in the final standings they were the only FIA F3 team to have two rookies finish in the top-ten. This shows their ability to coach rookie drivers on their way to immediately performing well in the series. I can’t wait to get going for pre-season testing and the first round at Bahrain!”

    MP Motorsport Team Principal Sander Dorsman added: “I’m pleased to welcome Kush to our FIA F3 team. In the past few years, Kush has proved himself extremely well at regional F3 levels, now it’s time for him to step up to FIA F3. I’m sure he will mix well with Alex and Caio, and we will do our best to help him shine during each of the nine race weekends coming up in the championship.”