Racket sports, cricket and holidaying at home: Getting to know the real Jehan Daruvala

1 February 2022

Switching to PREMA Racing for his third season at this level, Jehan Daruvala will be hoping to put together a title charge on track, but what is he really like off it?

We caught up with the Red Bull junior, who discussed his love for racket sports and cricket, his best friends on the F2 grid and why going home is the best holiday destination.

WHERE DO YOU CONSIDER HOME?

“For me, Mumbai is still home, even though I spend a lot of time in England. India is not really how a lot of people think it is. Some people think that there are a lot of people there and not much infrastructure, but Mumbai is a very developed city. I live in a really nice neighbourhood and have a lot of really close friends, who remain my closest friends. There is a real family environment there and that's how I was brought up.”

WHO INSPIRES YOU?

“My dad is probably my inspiration. He works really hard all of the time, and just how he is as a person in general. In terms of how I handle myself in certain situations, I think that my dad is a really good example for me to learn from.”

HOW DO YOU RELAX AWAY FROM THE TRACK?

“When I go home, I shut off a bit. I have a holiday home around 100km from Mumbai, which is in the middle of a forest. There is a lot of peace and quiet around there, and there isn't any connection, so you can really wind down for a whole weekend and not think about anything.

“There is a swimming pool there and I go running. I don't like cycling, so I tend to avoid that. My preferred choice of training is playing sports. I used to play football before I injured my leg, but now I play a lot of squash, badminton, table-tennis and cricket. Mostly racket sports.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE VIDEO GAME?

“Probably the F1 game, although I don't really play the PlayStation very much. I prefer to watch Netflix than play video games.”

WHO DO YOU GET ON BEST WITH ON THE F2 GRID?

“I would say Jüri (Vips) and Marcus (Armstrong) are my closest friends on the grid. We go on holidays together and hang out away from the track.”

DO YOU HAVE A SPECIALITY DISH?

“Burger and sweet potato fries.”

IF YOU WEREN’T A DRIVER, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

“I would love to be a cricketer, but I don't think that I am good enough. By India’s standards, I am definitely not, but I am good enough to play and have fun.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MOVIE AND TV SHOW?

“I don't really have one single favourite, but Rush would be one of the few films. In terms of TV shows, I enjoyed the Last Dance a lot, the Michael Jordan Documentary.”

WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO?

“When I put my headphones in, it is more to cut the noise out of the paddock. I just listen to whatever is playing. Apart from rap, it could be anything.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT BEING A RACING DRIVER?

“Pretty much everything, but if I had to say one thing, it would be driving fast cars on the limit. A lot of people say that it is travelling the world, but we mainly just go from track to hotel to track, so we don't really see that much of it. For me, it is the driving that is the best thing.”

WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION?

“I always keep my birthday cards and have a collection of them at home, but that is about it.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE RACING MEMORY?

“The back-to-back wins in Formula 3 with PREMA.”

WHERE WOULD YOU VISIT IF YOU COULD TRAVEL ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD?

“My favourite place to go in the world is home. I spend a lot of my year out in Europe, so when I go on holiday, I go home. “