Picture Credit: X
India’s top racer and the current F2 driver Kush Maini recently tested for BWT Alpine F1 team at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. With this, Kush Maini became the fourth Indian driver to successfully test a Formula One car, joining the likes of Narine Karthikeyan, Karun Chandok and Jehan Daruvala.
The 23-year-old Indian race driver, drove BWT Alpine’s A522 car and clocked more than 500 kilometers, completing 110 laps of the iconic Red Bull Ring. Maini completed two-day testing in Spielberg, the home of the Austrian Grand Prix in the team’s 2022 car.
The Invicta racing team driver in F2, Maini opened up after his day 1 on the circuit in Australia. “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 successfully and we were able to tick everything off our checklist which made for an incredible test. I cannot wait for the next one,” he further added.
It is to be noted that Kush Maini is a part of the Alpine Young Driver Academy and his testing comes after the team recently parted ways with their seasoned driver Esteban Ocon. The BWT Alpine F1 team on June 3 confirmed that they will let go Esteban Ocon after the 2024 season. The French driver, who joined the Enstone-based team in 2020, will complete his five-year deal with the side at the end of this season.
