Beyond Lindblad: India's road to the F1 grid runs through Kush Maini
An Alpine reserve, the first Indian to win an F2 race at Monaco, four seasons deep in the junior ranks. Meet the drivers carrying India's F1 hopes in 2026.
Arvid Lindblad is on the grid. Behind him, a small but real Indian pipeline is pushing to follow.
Kush Maini
At 24, Maini is an Alpine Academy member and the team's F1 test and reserve driver, also serving as a Mahindra reserve in Formula E. In May 2025 he became the first Indian to win an F2 race at Monaco — a lights-to-flag Sprint victory. In 2026 he's in his fourth F2 season, now with ART Grand Prix, backed by TVS Racing.
Jehan Daruvala
A former Red Bull and McLaren junior with 82 F2 starts, Daruvala has moved into Formula E with Maserati MSG Racing — off the direct F1 ladder now, but still a marquee Indian name in single-seaters.
The ones who got there
For context, only two Indians had raced in F1 before Lindblad's Indian-origin debut: Narain Karthikeyan (Jordan 2005, HRT 2011–12) and Karun Chandhok (HRT/Lotus 2010–11). The pipeline is thin — but it has never been more visible.