Formula 2: Jehan Daruvala claims second podium by finishing third in Jeddah

Jeddah: Indian racer Jehan Daruvala claimed his second podium of the season by finishing third in the Formula 2 Feature race, held on the sidelines of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix here.

Jehan raced brilliantly after starting from the 14th position on the grid at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Sunday.

The 23-year-old from Mumbai, began his weekend on the back foot after a mechanical issue hampered his qualifying round.

But the Red Bull-backed racer used a mix of race craft, strategy and tyre management to claw his way up the ladder.

"It's very satisfying. Coming into this weekend I knew Prema (Racing) had a really good car. I was really down after qualifying. But once we discovered that our lack of pace was down to a mechanical issue, it made me believe again," Jehan, who races for the Italian team, said.

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"It was good damage limitation and honestly third was probably the maximum we could have had today (Sunday)."

Jehan, who went from 13th to seventh in Saturday's sprint race, earned his ninth podium in F2 with a mature drive.

He passed two cars off the line at the start, pulled off a bold pass around the outside of three cars on Turn 1 at one stage, and swept past fellow Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa on the start-finish straight.

He timed his lone pit stop to perfection and used all his experience to keep his pace up, hunting down and passing Marcus Armstrong while managing tyre wear over a long second stint on the harder tyre.

Jehan now heads to historic Imola for the next round of the season which will take place from 22-24 April.

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