New Delhi: As the Indian national anthem rang out in Monte Carlo, Kush Maini made history—his tyres screeching over the finish line, his arms raised in triumph. The 24-year-old from Bengaluru became the first Indian to win a Formula 2 Sprint Race in Monaco, a feat that not only marks a personal milestone but also signals a new era for Indian motorsport.
Racing for DAMS Lucas Oil, Maini produced a flawless, lights-to-flag drive—meaning he led the race from the moment the lights went out until the chequered flag fell.
“P1 and first Indian to win at Monaco. It’s a great honour and a dream come true, really. I want to thank DAMS and everyone who’s supported me. We keep believing,” Maini said, visibly emotional after the podium ceremony.
This was his maiden F2 victory and his first podium of the 2025 season, clocking an impressive 44:57.639 over 30 laps on Saturday. The win also puts him in record books as the first Indian to stand atop the Monaco F2 podium.
Finally a breakthrough in Monaco!
I'm so grateful to the entire team that has been working hard behind the scenes despite a tough start to the year. This is just the beginning of our season… let's build on this momentum and take on Barcelona 👊 @damsracing
A special thank… pic.twitter.com/I37RWQedwk
— Kush Maini (@kmainiofficial) May 26, 2025
Formula 2, the official feeder series to Formula 1, is where the world’s best young drivers compete for a shot at the top. The championship, rebranded from GP2 in 2017, is run by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) and is widely considered the last step before F1.
The FIA is the global governing body for motorsport, responsible for regulating, promoting and ensuring safety in competitions like Formula 1 and Formula 2.
Maini’s win is not just about speed—it’s about joining an elite group of drivers who have conquered Monaco’s unforgiving street circuit.
The track winds through the narrow, glamorous streets of Monte Carlo, with tight corners, unforgiving barriers and sudden elevation changes that leave no room for error. Because the circuit is so narrow and technical, overtaking is extremely difficult and a rare sight, making a qualifying position crucial.
Every lap demands absolute precision, nerve and skill, which is why winning at Monaco is considered one of the most prestigious achievements in motorsport.
Maini had qualified P10 for Sunday’s Feature Race, which put him on pole for the Sprint Race, thanks to F2’s reverse grid system—where the top 10 qualifiers start in reverse order for the Sprint, giving more drivers a shot at victory.
He converted that pole into a commanding win, never giving his rivals a chance. On Sunday, he backed it up with a solid sixth-place finish in the Feature Race, rounding off a successful weekend in the principality.
The Sprint Race in Formula 2 is a shorter race where drivers start in a reversed order based on their qualifying results, making it exciting and unpredictable. The Feature Race is longer, with drivers starting in the order they qualified, and includes a pit stop, offering more points and is considered the main race of the weekend.
“Obviously, this is the Sprint Race; we all want to win the Feature, but it’s still a win in Monaco. As a young kid from India, playing F1 on a PlayStation, I never thought I’d be here and winning in the second tier. So, really grateful, grateful to the team as well,” Maini said.
This is Maini’s third season in F2, but his first with DAMS Lucas Oil after previous stints at Campos Racing and Invicta Racing. He made his F2 debut in 2023, after graduating from FIA Formula 3 in 2022.
Last year, he took his maiden F2 win at the Budapest Sprint Race. Earlier this year, Maini was also named Test and Reserve Driver for Alpine F1, a role that could bring him even closer to the F1 grid.
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Racing runs in the family
Racing runs in the Maini family. His brother, Arjun, is a former F2 driver, and his father, Gautam Maini, raced in F3. The family’s connection to cars goes even further—Kush’s uncle, Chetan Maini, built India’s first electric car, the REVA, and now serves as CTO of Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles.
Speaking to ThePrint over the phone, Gautam Maini discussed Kush’s historic win in Monaco, highlighting the significance of the achievement for Indian motorsport.
He addressed the challenges faced due to limited infrastructure and support in India, and explained why winning at Monaco is considered one of the toughest and most prestigious feats in racing.
“It was the most amazing day for me to witness Kush on the top step of Monaco with the national anthem playing. Every bit of hard work that Kush has put up for all these years was worth the win in Monaco. I would rate it as the best victory to date because it’s everybody’s dream to win at Monaco,” he said.
Gautam’s pride is matched by his realism about the challenges Indian drivers face, such as little support from the corporate world.
“The support structure for motorsports at this level is completely missing in our country. We are 1.4 billion people, but we need more corporates to see the sport like the Europeans do. It’s a tough sport. Only 20 drivers across the world race at F1. So it’s a difficult dream but having dreamt it, it would be great to have others believe that we can have an Indian one among the 20,” he said.
“While we have had sponsors like JK Racing and TVS Racing, I feel that the corporate world in India has not understood how big F1 is and that they should come forward and support it wholeheartedly.”
He also bemoaned the facilities in India, which is a big hurdle for Indian drivers trying to compete on the world stage.
“We don’t have the facilities in India and hence can’t really test here. At best, you have a home simulator. So clearly there is a gap and especially while growing up where Kush got very little testing compared to drivers based out of Europe,” Gautam told ThePrint.
Monaco, he explains, is unlike any other circuit. “Monaco is unreal. Not because it’s a track where you will see a lot of overtaking but because the track is so tight and unforgiving that the smallest of errors changes the race for everyone. It’s the holy grail of motorsport. The atmosphere is something you can’t describe. Winning in Monaco is like climbing Mount Everest with a rider. It’s once a year and many of the races are won from pole. So a lot of things have to come together to win in Monaco.”
He said COVID-19 brought its own set of hurdles. “Covid was another big challenge where we had to cancel the programme we had planned to do and Kush had to drive in the UK as the team offered him a sponsored drive,” said his father.
Looking ahead, the focus is clear. Kush is set to compete next weekend in Barcelona, Spain, as the F2 season heads into Round 7.
“His focus is clearly on F2 and he will have his chances to test the earlier F1 cars like he did last year. I want to see him achieve his dream of being in F1, but for the moment, the focus is clearly to go race by race and do the best he can,” he said.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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