Kush Maini, India’s F1 Hope: The Journey, The Struggles, The Dream

India Today

From a 12-year-old moving to Europe with nothing but ambition, to signing with Alpine and inching closer to Formula 1, Kush Maini opens up about the pressure, the doubts, and the wins that shaped him.

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Kushmaini. I'm a Formula 2 racing driver from India.

00:04Just finished qualifying in Monza.

00:08There's been some years where it's almost been impossible that I'll ever get to F1.

00:12It's definitely been a tough road and doubts have definitely crept in a lot.

00:16My dad used to race at a very low level in India and obviously I have a brother, Arjun.

00:21So he was getting all the attention when he was winning races and stuff.

00:24So it just started off trying to beat him.

00:25But eventually when I was 10 or 11 years old, I started to get really into it and I started to actually get quite good.

00:33What is your equation like with the team and the other drivers?

00:36I would say obviously in F1, Pierre is also managed by my manager.

00:41So we're quite close.

00:43And obviously Franco, I've raced with him before in Formula 2.

00:46We're quite a close group and it's nice to just have some people,

00:51like some familiar faces on track always because sometimes he can get lonely.

00:54Can you explain what the difference is between an F2 car and an F1 car?

00:59Well, it's a huge difference, I would say.

01:00The big difference comes in the aerodynamics of the cars.

01:04F1 is about 12-13 seconds quicker a lap than an F2.

01:08The best way to put it is like, you know,

01:10going from like a very standard laptop to like the highest like gaming computer ever.

01:14So what would like your dream F1 car be?

01:17Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari?

01:20Wherever the check's the biggest.

01:21What is one racing moment that really stuck with you?

01:26Honestly, I would say Monaco, it was surreal.

01:28Just having the national anthem playing on a Saturday where the stands were full.

01:35Who would you pick to play your biopic?

01:37Honestly, that's a good question.

01:40I'll say Shah Rukh Khan.

01:40What do you have to say for someone maybe who doesn't have the means

01:44or doesn't come from a very well-off background?

01:47I think it starts with creating a road, really, from India.

01:51It's getting better a bit, but it's not going to happen overnight.

01:53And it's one of my goals, really, to, you know, one of,

01:56after I make, hopefully make my first call, the Formula One,

01:59I want to make it easier for,

02:01I want to be, I want to make it easier for Indians to be more enthusiastic about racing.

02:05Because right now it's like,

02:06it's tough to connect with the sport when you can't really do it.

02:09You know, it's like, you watch F1 on the TV,

02:12but, you know, when you watch cricket on the TV,

02:14it's like, you can go out and hold a bat and play with your friend.

02:16When you watch F1, it's like, what do you do, you know?

02:18So, making that where you can connect more with the sport.

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