Chennai, Oct 5 (Inditop.com) Armaan Ebrahim, India’s best hope for a Formula One seat, is all set to finish his debut season in the inaugural Formula-2 series on a high as he flies off to Barcelona, Spain, for the final round of the championship.
The 20-year old from Chennai, who has been plagued by bad luck and has had to contend with an under-performing car, is currently placed 16th on the leaderboard with seven points, but statistically and in terms of pace, he is far better.
Based purely on the number of cars passed throughout the season, Armaan has the best race form of anyone in Formula Two. He has improved a total of 65 places in the eight races he has finished this year – equivalent to making up more than eight places per race.
The next best is Edoardo Piscopo, who has improved on average five places per race from his starting position. Armaan is targeting a strong performance in Barcelona as he bids to finish his season on a positive note following a difficult weekend in Imola.
Armaan has impressed with regular top 10 finishes so far this year, but suffered with car problems in Italy and was unable to finish in either race. He insists the weekend is not weighing too heavily on his mind, however, and is looking to bounce back quickly at Barcelona – the final round of the year.
“Imola was a bad weekend for me, but there’s no point dwelling on it,” he said. “I had a bit of bad luck, but it’s behind me and I’m not thinking about it. Instead, I am just hoping to finish the season on a high with a good result at Barcelona.
“These things happen, but as a racing driver you have to take the positives. For example, I set the 10th fastest time in free practice one despite never having been to the circuit. It was really frustrating for sure, but I know when things go well I am able to challenge for a top 10 berth,” he said.
Armaan’s performance has brought him to the attention of racing afficionados among whom Force India owner Vijay Mallya recently listed him as one of India’s best young prospects.
Further, Volkswagen extended an invitation to Armaan to drive in the final round of the high-profile and prestigious European Formula 3 series through which Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel graduated to Formula 1.
“It was a nice compliment to hear my name mentioned by Vijay Mallya,” Armaan confessed. “I am still very young, and hopefully I can keep improving. I am definitely keen to return next year, but I want to impress and I will be targeting podiums and race victories for sure.
“One of the problems this year has been that all the circuits were new to me. The competition is so high in Formula Two that being just one second off in qualifying can leave you 17th or 18th on the grid.”
rounak