Daijiworld Media Network – Monaco
Monaco, May 24: In a landmark moment for Indian motorsport, Kush Maini has etched his name into the history books by becoming the first-ever Indian driver to win a race at the prestigious Circuit de Monaco. Piloting for DAMS Lucas Oil, Maini clinched victory in the Formula 2 Sprint Race, converting his pole position into a thrilling and hard-fought win ahead of fellow Alpine Academy driver Gabriele Minì of PREMA Racing.
An elated Maini said after the race, “P1, first Indian to win in Monaco too. It's a great honour and a dream come true. I want to say thank you to DAMS and everyone who has supported me. We keep believing!”
Maini executed a flawless launch off the line to retain the lead into Turn 1, while Luke Browning dropped to fifth following a sluggish start, opening the door for Minì to seize P2. The action intensified at Mirabeau as Arvid Lindblad attempted a daring move on Jak Crawford for third. Contact between the two, however, allowed Browning to reclaim fourth, while Crawford, despite recovering to third, was handed a 10-second penalty for causing the collision.
With DRS activated, Minì kept relentless pressure on Maini, keeping the gap under half a second through the first 10 laps, even as the duo distanced themselves by over eight seconds from the chasing pack led by Lindblad.
The drama escalated on Lap 12 when a Safety Car was deployed after Joshua Duerksen of AIX Racing was pushed into the barriers at Portier following contact with Oliver Goethe of MP Motorsport. Duerksen’s race was brought to a premature end due to the heavy damage.
As the race resumed on Lap 15, Maini made a clean getaway, putting himself out of DRS range from Minì, while Lindblad found himself under intense pressure from Browning for the final podium spot. Meanwhile, Goethe continued his aggressive drive, diving down the inside of Victor Martins at La Rascasse for ninth. However, the move led to contact and earned Goethe a 10-second penalty.
With just 10 laps remaining, Minì once again closed in on Maini, narrowing the gap to a nail-biting 0.2 seconds. Lindblad, now 10 seconds adrift, was instructed by his team to push to mitigate the damage from his time penalty. Responding immediately, the Red Bull Junior Team driver increased his pace to hold off Browning.
On the final lap, Lindblad was right behind Minì, but Maini had already created a comfortable buffer of a few seconds. Once Lindblad's penalty was applied post-race, Luke Browning was elevated to P3, while Lindblad dropped down to eighth.
The final top ten stood as follows:
1. Kush Maini (DAMS Lucas Oil)
2. Gabriele Minì (PREMA Racing)
3. Luke Browning
4. Jak Crawford
5. Richard Verschoor
6. Sebastián Montoya
7. Leonardo Fornaroli
8. Arvid Lindblad
9. Victor Martins
10. Oliver Goethe