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Monaco 2025 F2 sprint winner Kush Maini hailed his feat as the most memorable moment of his motorsports career, during an event organised by industrialist Gautam Singhania at JK House in Breach Candy on Tuesday.
Last month, Maini became the first Indian to win a race in Monaco, which is often spoken of as the crown jewel of Formula racing. Starting from pole in the sprint race, Maini, 24, held his nerve to remain in the first spot from start to finish and thereafter broke into tears of joy, soaking in the reception.
“Being a Monaco GP winner is something that nobody can take away from you. During the race, we had a rear left brake issue. I was not as quick as I wanted to be. In Monaco, it’s difficult to overtake, but it’s equally difficult to stay away from the walls. So, it’s not a race that I want to relive for sure. Still, it is the most favourite memory of my career so far, and something I will remember for a long time,” Maini said.
Felicitated by Singhania
Singhania, who represents the country in the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), has been one of Maini’s staunchest supporters, even facilitating his association with two-time Formula 1 champion Mike Hakkinen, who mentors the Indian driver now. He explained the joyous celebration that followed Maini’s Monaco win, and also revealed that efforts are on to promote the young racer from his current role as reserve driver in the Alpine Formula 1 team. “It was epic. All of Monaco knew that an Indian won, and for those who didn’t know, I made sure they knew. We threw the biggest party there and it was a great moment to see the Indian flag flying high there. Kush is now also a reserve driver for Alpine and I hope that we manage to push him up from there,” Singhania said.
Alpine high
Maini reflected on his on-going stint with Alpine, where he is in the reserves alongside Ryo Hirakawa and Paul Aron. Franco Colapinto was also among them before he took Jack Doohan’s seat in the main team, which shows that the move upwards to the 20-driver grid is well within Maini’s reach. “My journey with Alpine began in late-2023. The association with Mika and Alpine almost happened hand-in-hand, and 2024 was season of many ups and downs. We got podiums, a pole position, and a win, but a lot of things didn’t happen as we would have wanted them to. The F1 testing went very well. Alpine liked my work ethic and I got the promotion to become their reserve driver. This year is very crucial and I feel the momentum swinging back in our favour now,” concluded Maini.
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