Indian F2 driver Kush Maini recently got behind the wheel of the BWT Alpine F1 car as the 23-year-old tested the powerful automobile in his role as a development driver for the Formula One side.
It was the racer’s first full Formula 1 test and the racer from Bengaluru was over the moon following the privilege. He did have a test run back in the year 2021, but it was just a single lap, with the recent test giving the driver comprehensively more time at the helm of the mean machine.
He shared his experience of commandeering the powerful Formula One vehicle, terming the automobile as the pinnacle of the sport.
“It still hasn’t sunk in,” he began as he tried to describe the adrenaline-pumping experience.
“You think it is going to be a step up, but it is so much more than you can imagine,” he explained.
“It has so much more downforce. These cars are at the pinnacle of what we do in our sport and are at the limit of the rules,” he elaborated.
He drew a comparison between the experience of the car on the F2 circuit and emphasised the massive jump between the power and performance levels.
“They are so quick through the fast corners. For instance, at the Red Bull Ring, we were going five, six-second quicker than what we did at F2,” Maini said.
“So it is a complete step up. The G – Force you feel is something else. My neck still hurts,” he jested.
“It is something you can’t really prepare for. It was just unreal,” he reflected.
“The first session was sort of getting into it, but as soon as the first session got over, it was going for lap time and trying to be as quick as I can,” the 23-year-old elaborated.
He went on to give a low-down on the technicalities of the car and expressed his delight on having had a first-hand experience of the machine.
“Obviously in F1 you can tweak the balance and you can adjust the diff, which is basically how much lock you want to apply on the diff, or unlock it. Understeer, oversteer and all that. So it is leaps and bounds ahead of the F2 car in terms of all the procedures and stuff, but it is such an unreal experience and I’m just lucky to have been able to do it,” Maini clarified.
He also spoke about the future of the sport in India in a passionate and rational tone as the youngster cut a confident yet humble figure while discussing the same.
“For me, a dream of mine has always been to put India properly on the motorsport map,” he asserted.
“I think there are a lot of kids who want to do this sport, but have no idea how to do it,” he added.
He went on to add that it would be provident to speak of bringing about changes once he has stamped his authority by proving himself on the track with a promotion to the highest level of the sport.
“I think step one for me is to make it myself. I think achieving the dream of reaching Formula One will open doors and help me proceed and improve this culture in our country. That is definitely a big goal of mine,” he reiterated.
“But, like you know, you got to make it first before going on to change things!”
“And as I said, my only goal is to do as well as I can in Formula 2 to make it to the pinnacle,” the F2 driver signed off.
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