 "Who is Kush Maini, the Indian racer named Alpine Formula 1 team’s Test and Reserve Driver?")
Kush Maini made history on Tuesday after Alpine named the 24-year-old Indian racer as their Test and Reserve Driver for the 2025 Formula 1 season. The Alpine Academy driver thus becomes the third Indian to enter F1 even if a debut race in the most elite open-wheel, single-seater event is still some time away.
“I am delighted to step up to the role of Test and Reserve Driver for BWT Alpine Formula 1 Team this season,” Maini was quoted as saying on the official F1 website.
“Since joining the Alpine Academy ahead of last year, I have been incredibly welcomed in the entire Alpine family and I am thankful to Flavio (Briatore) and Oliver (Oakes) for their continued support."
In his role as Test and Reserve Driver, the 24-year-old will be using the driver-in-loop simulator at Alpine’s base in Enstone, United Kingdom to support their car development and will also participate in the Testing of Previous Cars programme to further enhance his skills.
Maini will continue competing in Formula 2, where he is set for a third season, with DAMS (Driot Associés Motor Sport).
“I am looking forward to getting more track time in Formula 1 machinery in this role and to build on what I have already learned with the team in 2024.
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More Shorts“I’m very excited to begin the role as soon as possible but for now my focus is on my third season in Formula 2 kicking off this weekend in Australia.”
Who is Kush Maini?
Kush, whose older brother Arjun also a racer, was born on 22 September in Bengaluru. After spending initial years of his childhood in the ‘Garden City’, Maini he moved to the UK to focus on karting and also spent some time in Italy as well as in Switzerland, he revealed on the official Formula 3 website.
His first victory as a racer came at the age of 10 when he emerged triumphant in the karting section of the Indian National Championship.
“The fact that there were a lot of drivers older than me, Jehan (Daruvala) was racing in it. It was a good race to win. I had never won before that year and it was the last one, I just managed to win it. So that gave me confidence,” Maini was quoted as saying by the F3 website.
After a strong junior career, Maini started his single-seater career in the Italian F4 championship in 2016, competing for BVM Racing. Maini would go on to collect a series of wins in the British Formula 3 before finishing second in 2020 while representing Hitech Grand Prix. Along the way, he also competed in the Formula Renault Eurocup.
He would then compete in the F3 Asian Championship, competing for Mumbai Falcons, before entering the FIA Formula 3 in 2022, collecting a podium finish at Hungaroring. Maini would continue his upward trajectory thereafter, making his F2 debut the following year with for Campos Racing, finishing second in the feature race in Bahrain and collecting his only podium of the season in Melbourne.
Also Read | India's Kush Maini achieves career-best F2 finish in 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
He would make even more F2 history the following season after joining Invicta Racing, helping them win the Constructors’ Championship and securing five podiums, including a race win in Hungary . He had also become the first Indian to clinch pole position in Formula Two.
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