One of the biggest complaints among many Formula 1 fans right now is the number of cars currently competing in the sport.
With just 20 available seats in F1, it’s becoming incredibly difficult for drivers to break into the sport and teams appear to be increasingly wary of taking risks on rookies given how close the grid is right now.
Speaking on The Inside Lane F1 Podcast, Peter Windsor has been speaking about one driver who never got his chance to prove himself in F1.
With no sign of Andretti being accepted into Formula 1 any time soon, the number of available seats isn’t likely to change in the near future.
It means winters such as the one we experienced last year when every driver retained their seat only created a bigger backlog of top young drivers waiting for their chance.
Eventually, they end up moving onto other series as they cannot be sat on the sidelines waiting forever, as even Felipe Drugovich is racing elsewhere now two years after winning Formula 2.
Liam Lawson in any other period of F1 would have earned a race seat with his cameo last year but instead is patiently waiting for an opportunity to pop up within the Red Bull group.
However, one of his fellow Red Bull Junior teammates Jehan Daruvala was never even offered that chance in Formula 1 despite Peter Windsor believing he more than deserved it.
The 25-year-old has instead forged a career away from F1 with a spot on the grid in the future looking very unlikely.
Peter Windsor believes Jehan Daruvala deserved Formula 1 chance
India has only produced two F1 drivers in the history of the sport and between them, they only scored five points.
Narain Karthikeyan paved the way back in 2005, securing a fourth-place finish for Jordan during the infamous United States Grand Prix that year.
He returned to F1 with HRT in 2011 for 29 more races but finished 26 and 24 respectively in his final two seasons in the sport.
Karun Chandhok managed half a season with Hispania Racing in 2010 and a single substitute appearance for Lotus the following year but that’s the full extent of the country’s impact on F1 aside from hosting three Grand Prix.
While there are hopes that Kush Maini could make it to Formula 1 one day through Alpine’s academy, Windsor believes Jehan Daruvala deserved his chance.
Jehan Daruvala failed to make the grade at Red Bull
Talking about the 25-year-old, Windsor said: “Too many good Indian drivers have not had the opportunity to show their talent.
“I think Jehan Daruvala is much better than a Formula E drive to be honest.
“I think he should have been given an opportunity [in Formula 1]. I find it extraordinary that a Formula 1 team didn’t just give him a proper chance on merit as distinct from the association he had with Force India because he’s good enough.
“You see guys like Guanyu Zhou out there doing a pretty job in the Sauber, but there wasn’t a lot between Jehan and Guayu Zhou in Formula 2.
“I think maybe, probably Guanyu was in a slightly better team but at the time, they were pretty closely matched and it wasn’t as if Jehan didn’t win F2 races, he did.
“Just to see him not being given an opportunity is a big worry and that shouldn’t happen and I feel embarrassed in a way that Formula 1 has yet that happen.”
Who is Jehan Daruvala and what is he doing now?
While Windsor believes Daruvala deserved a chance in Formula 1 and thinks he’s above his current Formula E drive, he’s still had a very promising racing career.
He won two karting titles in Asia as a teenager before moving to Europe in 2015 to drive single-seaters.
He was teammates with Lando Norris in 2016 and progressed all the way to Formula 2 before receiving Red Bull backing after a fantastic F3 debut campaign in 2019.
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Daruvala slowly progressed at F2 level with Carlin before finally getting his chance with PREMA who have an exceptional reputation at that level.
It should have been the campaign where he showed he was ready for F1 but instead, he finished 7 in the championship and with Drugovich winning the series.
MP Motorsport offered him a fourth shot at F2 last year but the car was never very competitive and Maserati then offered him his current role in Formula E.
Given he couldn’t win F2 in a strong team when the field wasn’t particularly competitive, it doesn’t seem too harsh that Daruvala never got his F1 chance.
The post ‘He’s good enough’: Peter Windsor says it’s ‘extraordinary’ that 25-year-old driver never got a chance in F1 appeared first on F1 Oversteer.