Beyond Lindblad: India's road to the F1 grid runs through Kush Maini

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.