Indian racer Jahan Daruwalla mounted an encouraging campaign to jump from 11th to second place in a Formula 2 feature race here on Sunday before he was robbed of his sixth podium of the season due to a post-race penalty.
Jahan had finished a provisional second after a motivated strategy call to start the race on slick tires on a damp track. The Red Bull-backed racer’s fast pace in difficult conditions saw him make rapid progress on the field.
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But a 20-second penalty, when the stewards understood that the Prema Racing team had attempted to dry the track surface at Jahan’s grid spot, negated his brilliant run.
The penalty was all the more disappointing as Jahn had a chance to inherit the race win after provisional winner Richard Verchur was disqualified for a fuel irregularity.
He was eventually placed in class 12th, which meant zero marks from the weekend. He was out of points in the sprint race.
“I’m absolutely devastated. Luck has been against us all season and we get penalties when I feel things are going our way.”
“We did everything right today. I was expecting a tough race from 11th on the grid and, while it was difficult, we thoroughly read the conditions today. The team put the right strategy on the tyres and I was on my way in the wet. Was able to max it out with speed.
“We worked hard to get away from us like this, it’s hard to find post-result positivity. We could have taken bigger points than our rivals today but I can still take encouragement at my own pace today.
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He is fourth in the standings with 80 points.
“We now have a weekend off before the next run of back-to-back races and now it’s all focused on Paul Ricard and Budapest. We just need to keep pushing and I’m sure our day will come , said Jahan.
The penalty in Austria was the latest in a series of Sunday misfortunes that have given Jahn a strong result in feature races this season.
A mistimed safety car cost him a possible victory at Imola. At Barcelona, a power problem sidelined Jehan on the fourth lap, when he was ideally placed to benefit from running an alternate strategy.
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