Arjun upgrades to GP3

AAFTER A DIFFICULT outing in the European F3 series with the T-Sport racing team, Arjun Maini has moved to the GP3 series with Jenzer Motorsport and has already got on the podium.

In his first race at Silverstone, Arjun qualified fourth for the first race and finished eighth. He was on pole for the reverse-grid second race, but got caught in an incident that caused a tyre puncture. This forced him to pit and finish down the order.

At the next round in Hungary, due to qualifying being cut short, Arjun only managed to qualify ninth. In the first race, he climbed up just one place due to the Hungaroring’s lack of overtaking opportunities.

The eighth place finish meant he was on pole for the next race but he lost his advantage going in to the first corner itself. He tried to regain composure and challenge for the win but settled for second once he had series leader Charles Leclerc on his tail. This podium was the first for an Indian in the GP3 series.

At Hockenheim, Arjun had his best time disallowed for exceeding track limits and so ended up qualifying 13th, but managed to finish seventh in the first race.

He started the second race from second on the grid and took the lead in the very first lap. But a virtual safety car period on the second lap threw him off and he dropped down to seventh. Arjun made up two spots in the following laps and could have bagged fourth had there been a lap or two more.

With 32 points in the championship, Arjun is definitely making his mark in the series.